Cure kinetics and chemorheological behavior of epoxy resin used in advanced composites

The cure kinetic of HD03 epoxy resin system was analyzed using isothermal DSC. A series of isothermal DSC curves provided information about the kinetics of cure in the limited temperatures. From the experimental data, it was found that the autocatalytic cure kinetic modeling correctly represented the cure kinetics of this system. All kinetic parameters of this epoxy resin system were calculated. In the latter cure stage, the cure reaction shifted from chemical reaction controlled to diffusion controlled. A defined numerical chemoviscosity model of epoxy resin, which was based on the absolute reaction rate theory, was given. Isothermal chemoviscosity of HD03 epoxy resin at some high temperatures and dynamic chemoviscosity at variant heating rate were measured by MCR 300 rheometer. The experimental data were analyzed and calculated. The model predicted results were compared with the experimental measurements, and it was found that the model predictions agreed well with the experimental observations.