Kinetic studies of thermoset cure reactions: A review

Abstract

This article presents a review of the kinetic studies on the cure reactions of thermosetting resins. The emphasis is placed on those conducted using the thermal analysis by differential scanning calorimetry. Two important categories of kinetic models are discussed and some existing parameter estimation techniques are presented. A variety of factors affecting the cure reactions, including the formulation of cure and process variables, are discussed. At the end, two different approaches in modeling the chemoviscosity of polymeric reactive systems are presented and some existing chemorheological models developed based on these approaches are briefly reviewed.

Controversial effects of fumed silica on the curing and thermomechanical properties of epoxy composites

“…Consequently, the required nanoparticle contents in polymer matrices are usually much lower as compared to micro-fillers [6]. The formation of organic-inorganic nanocomposites has shown the ability to provide simultaneous improvements in several properties including thermal stability, glass transition temperature levelling, dimensional stability, flame retardance, dielectric constant lowering and gas barrier and corrosion protection [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. The degree of interaction between filler and polymer and thus the composite properties have been related to the filler-matrix interface.…”

A cure modelling study of an unsaturated polyester resin system for the simulation of curing of fibre-reinforced composites during the vacuum infusion process

“…The DSC analysis and the cure kinetics of the thermoset resins (epoxy [2][3][4][5][6], and unsaturated polyester [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]) have been studied by many researchers. Among the thermoset resins, unsaturated polyester resins are very popular because of having relatively low cost, good balance of properties, and adaptability to many fabrication processes [1].…”

Influence of glass and sisal fibers on the cure kinetics of unsaturated polyester resin

“…Furthermore, natural fibers contain a significant amount of hydroxyls and due to their high cellulose content their structure is around 70% crystalline, which characterizes relevant structural differences in comparison with, for example, glass fiber 5 . The differences cited in the literature must be considered for possible applications of natural fibers -based composites, as the contact surface between the matrix and discontinuous phase can directly influence the cure kinetics of the polymer matrix 6 . Coir, sisal, jute, waste silk, cotton and bamboo are some natural fibers described in the literature [4][5][6] .…”

“…The differences cited in the literature must be considered for possible applications of natural fibers -based composites, as the contact surface between the matrix and discontinuous phase can directly influence the cure kinetics of the polymer matrix 6 . Coir, sisal, jute, waste silk, cotton and bamboo are some natural fibers described in the literature [4][5][6] . Their composition consists mainly of cellulose fibrils embedded in a lignin matrix, the fibrils being aligned along the length of the fiber, their components including cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, pectin, waxes and water [7][8][9][10] .…”