TITLE:
Kinetic Study of Resin-Curing on Carbon Fiber/Epoxy Resin Composites by Microwave Irradiation
AUTHORS:
Daisuke Shimamoto, Yusuke Imai, Yuji Hotta
KEYWORDS:
Activation Energy, Resin-Curing, Microwave Irradiation, Epoxy Resin, Carbon Fiber
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Composite Materials,
Vol.4 No.2,
April
4,
2014
ABSTRACT: Microwave
processing has great potential for improving composite manufacturing such as
reduction of curing time, energy requirements and operational costs. In this
paper, the effects of microwave irradiation for resin-curing of carbon
fiber/epoxy resin composite that was composed of discontinuous carbon fibers of
130 μm or 3 mm were investigated. The mechanical properties of carbon
fiber/epoxy resin composite cured by microwave irradiation for 20 min at 120°C
were similar to ones of the sample prepared by conventional oven for 180 min at
120°C. Microwavecured carbon fiber/epoxy resin composite had higher glass
transition temperature than the one prepared by conventional oven. The relation
between curing time and flexural modulus indicated that the curing velocity of
microwave-irradiated carbon fiber/epoxy resin composite was 9 times faster than
the one prepared by conventional oven. Furthermore, activation energies for resincuring
reaction on microwave and conventional-cured carbon fiber/epoxy resin composite
were estimated. The resin-curing reaction in carbon fiber/epoxy resin composite
was promoted by microwave irradiation.