Effects of storage aging on the cure kinetics of bismaleimide prepregs

✍ Scribed by M. Frigione; J. M. Kenny

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2005
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 180 KB
• Volume: 24
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0730-6679
• DOI: 10.1002/adv.20048

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

The effects of room temperature aging on the subsequent polymerization kinetics of a bismaleimide (BMI) matrix prepreg, for high performance composites, have been characterized by different time and storage conditions. The study has focused on the stability of BMI matrix carbon fiber prepregs, when exposed to controlled environmental conditions before being used in composite manufacturing. The effects of aging on glass transition temperature, reactivity, and processability have been investigated by calorimetry through dynamic, isothermal, and cure‐simulating tests. A theoretical kinetic model for epoxy matrix prepregs, developed in previous studies, has been applied to the polymerization of both aged and unaged BMI matrix. The model is able to satisfactorily describe the effect of processing variables such as temperature and degree of reaction during the curing of the composite under different conditions (curing temperature and heating rate). The effects of diffusion‐controlled phenomena on the reaction kinetics, associated with changes in glass transition temperature as a function of the degree of polymerization and cross‐linking, have been taken into account in the formulation of an __n__th‐order kinetic model. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Adv Polym Techn 24: 253–265, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/adv.20048