Browsing by Author "Zarrelli, M."

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    Cure Induced Property Changes and Warpage in Thermoset Resins and Composites
    (Cranfield University, 2003-03) Zarrelli, M.; Partridge, Ivana K.
    The aim of the present work was to investigate the evolution of thermal and mechanical properties during the polymerisation of a thermosetting resin that is typical those used as the matrix in advanced composites. The mechanism of the cure reaction was studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in both dynamic (thermal scanning) and isothermal modes, and procedures for correlating the two types of calorimetric data were developed. The model finally chosen encapsulates the diffusion- controlled mechanism of reaction by establishing a one-to-one relationship between the degree of cure and the glass transition temperature, which is assumed to be a structural parameter during the polymerisation. A detailed experimental investigation of specific heat capacity, thermal conductivity, secondary transformations (gelation and vitrification), thermal and chemical volume changes and stress relaxation moduli was carried out to establish a suitable database for the resin. Where possible, a closed analytical model was employed; alternatively, an interpolation procedure was developed evaluate the changes in a selected property during a more complex temperature profile. Experimental equipment was developed to perform shrinkage measurements on the neat resin system; the results obtained were later compared with experimental data from standard liquid dilatometry tests. A simulation of the curing of a bi-material cantilever beam is presented as a test case highlight the influence of property changes on the final curvature. Sample curvature during the experiment was recorded using a digital camera and then analysed using graphical software. The correlation between the observed values of curvature and the results of a finite element based simulation was used to validate the kinetics model and property modelling for the chosen thermosetting resin.
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    Investigation of cure induced shrinkage in unreinforced epoxy resin.
    (Maney Publishing, 2002-11-01T00:00:00Z) Zarrelli, M.; Skordos, Alexandros A.; Partridge, Ivana K.
    Changes in volume and thermal expansion coefficient have been investigated during the cure of a high temperature curing epoxy resin containing a thermoplastic modifier. The measurements were carried out using a combination of standard and novel thermoanalytical techniques. It is shown that the chemical shrinkage of the curing resin is a linear function of the degree of cure, whereas the coefficient of thermal expansion depends on the temperature and on the degree of cure. This experimental information is translated to an incremental model that simulates the volumetric changes occurring as the resin follows a programmed thermal profile. Such a model can serve as a density submodel in simulating heat transfer or residual stress development in composites during the manufacturing process.
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    Thermomechanical analysis of a toughened thermosetting system.
    (Springer Science Business Media, 2008-03-01T00:00:00Z) Zarrelli, M.; Skordos, Alexandros A.; Partridge, Ivana K.
    The experimental results of viscoelastic mechanical tests, at five different levels of conversion, are reported for a thermoset composite matrix system toughened with an appropriate percentage of a thermoplastic polymer. The results from static tests are used to construct the master curves at a specific degree of cure, while the shift factors are compared with the corresponding values from dynamic experiments in order to assess the validity of the time-temperature superposition for each conversion. Neat resin plates were cured accurately, according to the full kinetics model for a dynamic and isothermal temperature regime; the conversion gradient in the plane and across the thickness of the plates was assessed by a thermal analysis of samples taken from different locations before extracting the samples from them. The viscoelastic behaviour of the resin matrix showed a sensible difference in the relaxation time spectrum upon conversion according to the provisional trend of mobility theory; a higher conversion induced a horizontal shift of the principal relaxation time for each level of conversion, which could be related very well to the glass transition at the same conversion. Good results were also obtained for the ultimate modulus of the resin at a temperature just before the onset of the co-curing phase for partially cured samples
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    Toward a constitutive model for cure dependent modulus of a high temperature epoxy during the cure
    (Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam., 2010-12-31T00:00:00Z) Zarrelli, M.; Skordos, Alexandros A.; Partridge, Ivana K.
    A constitutive model, based on Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts (KWW) equations, was developed to simulate the evolution of the dynamic relaxation modulus during the cure of a "high temperature' epoxy. The basic assumption of the modelling methodology proposed is the equivalence of the mechanisms underlying the evolution of the glass transition temperature and the relaxation time shift during the cure, leading to the use of a common potential function. This assumption is verified by the comparison of normalized glass transition data and principal relaxation times, which have been found to follow a single master curve. Results show satisfactory agreement between experimental data and model prediction over the range of chemical conversion considered.