Thermosetting resins curing

Because most thermoset composites cure by a thermally activated reaction, a complicated heat transfer process occurs during solidification, the result of an exothermic cross linking reaction in the resin. The complications of thermoset resin curing are compounded by the competing mechanisms of... 

Reinforced plastics may also include fillers (qv), which are inexpensive materials such as calcium carbonate used to displace resin and reduce cost curing agents (catalysts), promoters, inhibitors, and accelerators, which affect thermosetting resin cure colorants release agents (qv) to facilitate removal from the mold and other additives which can impart a wide variety of properties to the finished part, such as fire resistance, electrical conductivity, static dissipation, and ultraviolet resistance. 

Fabrication of hardware based on the types of resins discussed herein is obviously a chemical process. To control a chemical process the starting raw materials must be precisely defined, and the course of the chemical process must be followed. In the aerospace industry this means the starting resin formulations must be consistent and precisely defined, and the chemical and physical changes that take place as a thermoset resin cures must be monitored and controlled. 

For use in thermoset resins cured via free radical polymerization, the terminal OH end group of PPE needs to be capped because the aromatic hydroxyl will act to quench free radicals and inhibit the polymerization [11, 12]. Capping the OH with a reactive group facilitates incorporating the PPE into the thermoset matrix [13, 14]. 

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