STRUCTURAL REACTION INJECTION-MOLDING OF POLYETHYLENE FIBER-REINFORCED EPOXY COMPOSITES

This paper describes the manufacture and properties of polyethylene fi bre reinforced epoxy composites made by structural reaction injection moulding (SRIM). A two stream fast reacting epoxy formulation was rein forced with mats woven from two different high modulus polyethylene fi bres: melt spun TENFOR fibre and gel spun DYNEEMA fibres. The fibres w ere used in both the untreated and plasma treated states to assess the effects of surface treatment on fibre/matrix adhesion. The high speed impact properties of the various composite systems were obtained from falling dart and high speed three point bend tests, and are discussed in comparison with properties of epoxy-polyethylene fibre composites made by a traditional prepreg compression moulding route.