Influence of Filler Content and Filler Size on the Curing Kinetics of an Epoxy Resin

Abstract

In this research, the influences of filler content and filler particle size on the flow-hardening behavior were investigated by a measuring mixer. In order to more reliably assess the observed rheological behavior, isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements were employed to study the curing kinetics of the compounds. The measured data can be fitted well with Kamal-Sourour’s model modified by the diffusion correlation according to Chern and Poehlein. After that, the influence of filler content and size on the kinetic parameters are presented discussed. The results show that the ultimate glass transition temperature is significantly lower for pure epoxy resin (EP) than for compounds filled with surface-treated glass beads, which have an essential effect on the diffusion-controlled reaction at different curing temperatures. For the surface-treated glass beads used in this study, the reaction speed in the early curing stage is accelerated by increasing filler content or decreasing of filler size. In the later curing stage, the reaction speeds of compounds with higher filler content or smaller fillers reduce more quickly. The study of reaction kinetics indicates that the activation energy Ea1, Ea2, the reaction order m, and n are affected differently by varying filler content and size.