Polyester molding compounds

Aromatic polyester Unsaturated polyester Alkyd molding compounds ... 

Some amino resins are used as additives to modify the properties of other materials. For example, a small amount of amino resin added to textile fabric imparts the familiar wash-and-wear quaUties to shirts and dresses. Automobile tires are strengthened by amino resins which improve the adhesion of mbber to tire cord (qv). A racing sailboat may have a better chance to win because the sails of Dacron polyester have been treated with an amino resin (1). Amino resins can improve the strength of paper even when it is wet. Molding compounds based on amino resins are used for parts of electrical devices, botde and jar caps, molded plastic dinnerware, and buttons. 

Phenohc resins (qv), once a popular matrix material for composite materials, have in recent years been superseded by polyesters and epoxies. Nevertheless, phenohc resins stiU find considerable use in appHcations where high temperature stabiHty and fire resistance are of paramount importance. Typical examples of the use of phenoHc resins in the marine industry include internal bulkheads, decks, and certain finishings. The curing process involves significant production of water, often resulting in the formation of voids within the volume of the material. Further, the fact that phenoHcs are prone to absorb water in humid or aqueous conditions somewhat limits their widespread appHcation. PhenoHc resins are also used as the adhesive in plywood, and phenohc molding compounds have wide use in household appliances and in the automotive, aerospace, and electrical industries (12). 

R. W. Mayer, Polyester Molding Compounds and Molding Technology, Chapman and Hau, New York (1987). 

One case is that of the TS polyester materials such as the alkyd molding compounds. 

Sheet molding compounds (SMCs) and bulk molding compounds (BMCs) are the dominant materials used in automotive applications. These composites of unsaturated polyester resin, fillers and fiberglass have advantages of high stiffness, heat resistance and low coefficient of expansion. Coupled with low creep resistance, which is a distinct advantage over thermoplastic competition, and low-profile additives, which can yield Class A surfaces, these materials are well suited for applications from exterior body panels to under the hood components. 

Sheet molding compound (SMC) is a composite material that has been used as an alternative to steel for more than 30 years. SMC consists of a glass-fiber-filled unsaturated polyester and vinyl ester resin that has been compacted into a sheet. These sheets are then placed into compression molds and formed into body panels, and these panels are then coated mainly by dual-cure coatings. ... 

The most common and widely used thermoset molding compounds are classified as follows (a) alkyd, (b) allylic (diallyl phthalate), (c) amino (melamine and urea), (d) epoxy, (e) phenolic, (f) polyester, and (g) silicone. There may be other specialty thermoset resin materials used on specific applications. 

ALLYL ESTER RESINS. The allyl radical (CH2CH=CH2) is the basis of the allyl family of resins. Allyl esters arc based on monobasic and dibasic acids and are available as low-viscosity monomers and thermoplastic prepolymers. They are used as crosslinking agents for unsaluraied polyester resins and in the preparation of reinforced thermoset molding compounds and high-performance transparent articles. All modem thermoset techniques may be used for processing allyl resins. 

Special grades of styrenic block copolymers are useful modifiers for sheet molding compounds (SMC) based on thermoset polyesters. They improve surface appearance, impact resistance, and hot strength. 

Recently Sands et al.97) and Methven et al. 98) developed sheet molding compounds (SMC) and sandwich structures based on polyester syntactic foams. 

Sheet and Bulk Molding Compounds. The activity with SMC and and BMC is based on resin technology which was known more than 20 years ago (3). The key concept involves increasing the viscosity of the unsaturated polyester resin. The polyester resin with an initial viscosity of several thousand centipoise is advanced chemically to a viscosity of several million centipoise. 

Again, as in many other fields covered in the book, modified epoxies are the most studied systems (toughened epoxies for adhesive coatings and composites). But also rubber-modified phenolics and low-profile unsaturated polyesters for sheet and bulk molding compounds have been extensively studied. 

The matrix can be either a thermoset or thermoplastic. The oldest and still widest used material for compression molded products is phenolic. The thermoset materials used to manufacture fiber reinforced compression molded articles is unsaturated polyester sheet or bulk, reinforced with glass fibers, known as sheet molding compound (SMC) or bulk molding compound (BMC). In SMC, the 25 mm long reinforcing fibers are randomly oriented in the plane of the sheet and make up for 20-30% of the molding compound s volume fraction. 

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