pps proceeding - Abstract Preview
pps proceeding
Symposium: S02 - Polymer Rheology
Oral Presentation
 
 

Dielectric and rheological study of the molecular dynamics during the cure of an epoxy resin

Pflock Tobias (1)*, Chaloupka Alexander (1), Rudolph Natalie (2), Horn Siegfried (3)

(1) Netzsch Geraetebau - Bavaria - Germany, (2) University of Wisconsin - Madison - Wisconsin - USA, (3) University of Augsburg - Bavaria - Germany

Composite manufacturing is currently one of the most challenging processes for industrial lightweight applications. To date, the process conditions for polymer©\based composite manufacturing are evaluated by laboratory measurements: usually, the flow behavior and the curing of the polymer matrix material are characterized by rheology and quality assurance is performed by thermo©\physical analysis in postprocess measurements. In contrast a dielectric in©\mold sensor offers the possibility to measure the real©\time behavior of the polymer during processing. This study focuses on the correlation of simultaneous rheological and dielectric measurements on Hexcel RTM6 using a coupled setup of both techniques. For dielectric measurements a reusable in©\mold sensor was used and a calibration, taking into account the cable response, was performed. The results show good agreement with respect to glass©\transition temperature and the gel©\point. This can be understood by the fluctuation¨Cdissipation theorem that explicitly relates molecular dynamics to the macromolecular mechanical properties under dynamic time©\dependent load. Furthermore, it was found that the dynamic viscosity can directly be related to the electrical conductivity. This proves the high potential of dielectric analysis as online©\capable technique for material characterization during composite manufacturing.