MODEL LAWS FOR CURING OF THERMOSETTING COMPOSITES

Model laws for curing of thermosetting composites are established. The transient heat conduction coupled with the kinetic equation and the i nitial 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 dim ensionless parameters. It is shown how one can use the model laws to d esign and fabricate a model composite structure for a prototype one. T he model can be employed for the experimental purposes. Since both mod el and prototype have the same behavior at the homologous points and t imes, the model experimental results can be interpreted for the protot ype one. The use of different systems of materials in the design proce ss of a model is investigated. It is shown that due to the different k inetic equations for the different resin systems, a feasible way to de sign a model is to use the same resin, but the different fibers. For t his case, it can be shown that for the same initial temperature and cu re cycle for both model and prototype, the temperature and degree of c ure at the homologous points are the same. Also to transform the model experimental results to the prototype, it is not necessary to know th e resin kinetic equation. Therefore, one can use a less expensive mode l to determine the optimum cure cycle by performing experiments, and t hen the results can be used directly for the more expensive prototype.