THERMAL, MECHANICAL AND RHEOLOGICAL EVOLUTION DURING THE PROCESSING OF MULTILAYER THERMOSETTING COMPOSITE STRUCTURES

The rheological, mechanical and thermokinetic aspects of the cure of u nsaturated polyester based laminated composites were analyzed by means of a numerical model. The model was developed using the heat transfer and heat generation characteristics of polymerizable systems coupled with the viscoelastic properties of the layer materials. The calculate d evolution of the temperature profiles in the single layers were used to analyze the corresponding thermomechanical dimensional stability. First, the temperature profiles were calculated according to appropria te kinetic and heat transfer models and then the corresponding dimensi onal changes were evaluated as a function of time. The viscoelastic pa rameters used in the model were measured in stress relaxation compress ion tests.