Modeling thermoset properties during

The final physical properties of thermoset polymers depend primarily on the network structure that is developed during cure. Development of improved thermosets has been hampered by the lack of quantitative relationships between polymer variables and final physical properties. The development of a mathematical relationship between formulation and final cure properties is a formidable task requiring detailed characterization of the polymer components, an understanding of the cure chemistry and a model of the cure kinetics, determination of cure process variables (air temperature, heat transfer etc.), a relationship between cure chemistry and network structure, and the existence of a network structure parameter that correlates with physical properties. The lack of availability of easy-to-use network structure models which are applicable to the complex crosslinking systems typical of "real-world" thermosets makes it difficult to develop such correlations. 

The mechanism for cross-linking of thermosetting resins is very complex because of the relative interaction between the chemical kinetics and the changing of the physical properties [49], and it is still not perfectly understood. The literature is ubiquitous with respect to studies of cure kinetic models for these resins. Two distinct approaches are used phenomenological (macroscopic level) [2,5,50-72] and mechanistic (microscopic level) [3,73-85]. The former is related to an overall reaction (only one reaction representing the whole process), the latter to a kinetic mechanism for each elementary reaction occurring during the process. 

The fabrication of composite laminates having a thermosetting resin matrix is a complex process. It involves simultaneous heal, mass, and momentum transfer along with chemical reaction in a multiphase system with time-dependent material properties and boundary conditions. Two critical problems, which arise during production of thick structural laminates, are the occurrence of severely detrimental voids and gradients in resin concentration. In order to efficiently manufacture quality parts, on-line control and process optimization are necessary, which in turn require a realistic model of the entire process. In this article we review current progress toward developing accurate void and resin flow portions of this overall process model. 

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