The Effect of Fiber Presence on the Curing Kinetics of Thermoset Resins

Thermoset resins are the most widely used resins in diverse industries including aerospace and automotive industries. To improve or add special properties such as mechanical properties, thermal or electrical, fiber thermoset resins are being used in the formulation. In this paper, we will discuss about investigating the effect of fiber on the curing kinetics of thermosetting resins with chemical and physical point of view. From the physical point, heat capacity and thermal conductivity of resin change by presence of fibers, and prevent the flow and dynamics of molecular functional groups by creating a physical barrier. And by investigating the effects of presence of fibers From the chemical point, we can see that the degree of starching fibers, use of the binding agent and also type and amount of binding agent changes in the kinetics of the curing of thermoset resins. The remarkable thing is that the presence of fluid coupling agents creates a bake velocity gradient from the surface of the fibers to the bulk resin. In conclusion we can say that in presence of fibers, the resin activation energy decreased, resin baking reaction in lower temperatures and times began and goes with the lower maximum speed.