Model Laws for Curing of Thermosetting Composites

Abstract

Model laws for curing of thermosetting composites are established. The transient heat conduction coupled with the kinetic equation and the initial and boundary conditions are non-dimensionalized. Dimensionless parameters are extracted from the non-dimensional governing equations and boundary conditions. Model laws are constructed based on these dimensionless parameters. It is shown how one can use the model laws to design and fabricate a model composite structure for a prototype one. The model can be employed for the experimental purposes. Since both model and prototype have the same behavior at the homologous points and times, the model experimental results can be interpreted for the prototype one. The use of different systems of materials in the design process of a model is investigated. It is shown that due to the different kinetic equations for the different resin systems, a feasible way to design a model is to use the same resin, but the different fibers. For this case, it can be shown that for the same initial temperature and cure cycle for both model and prototype, the temperature and degree of cure at the homologous points are the same. Also to transform the model experimental results to the prototype, it is not necessary to know the resin kinetic equation. Therefore, one can use a less expensive model to determine the optimum cure cycle by performing experiments, and then the results can be used directly for the more expensive prototype.