Open Access
ARTICLE
CHARACTERIZATION OF THE RHEOLOGY AND CURE KINETICS OF EPOXY RESIN WITH CARBON NANOTUBES
R. J. Johnson∗, R. Pitchumani†
Advanced Materials and Technologies Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech,
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061-0238, USA
∗
Presently with ASML, Wilton, Connecticut, USA
† Corresponding author. Email: pitchu@vt.edu; Phone: +1 540 231 1776
Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer 2010, 1(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.5098/hmt.v1.1.3007
Abstract
Much research is currently being performed with carbon nanotube additives to neat resin systems to enhance properties such as thermal and electrical
conductivity, strength, modulus and damping. Fabrication of parts based on carbon nanotube filled resin systems requires information on their
cure kinetics and rheology, which has been relatively less studied so far. This work presents an extensive experimental study that systematically
characterizes the cure kinetics and viscosity as a function of degree of cure and temperature of EPON 815C/EPICURE 3274 epoxy resin system laden
with carbon nanotubes. Studies are conducted to determine the effects of the carbon nanotube loading and morphology on the cure reaction as well as
the viscosity of the resin system in the early stages of the cure process, as is relevant in most processing applications. The experimental measurements
are presented as generalized correlations as functions of the carbon nanotube parameters, carbon nanotube loading, temperature, degree of cure, and
shear rate.
Keywords
Cite This Article
Johnson, R. J., Pitchumani, R. (2010). CHARACTERIZATION OF THE RHEOLOGY AND CURE KINETICS OF EPOXY RESIN WITH CARBON NANOTUBES.
Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer, 1(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.5098/hmt.v1.1.3007