28th Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, 23 - 28 September 2012, Brisbane, Australia
Paper ICAS 2012-7.8.2

INTERFACE DIFFUSION AND MORPHOLOGY OF AEROSPACE GRADE EPOXY CO-CURED WITH THERMOPLASTIC POLYMERS

L. -J. Vandi, M. Hou*, M. Veidt*, R. Truss*, M. Heitzmann**, R. Paton**
Univ. of Queensland & CRC-ACS, Australia; *Univ. of Queensland, Australia; **Advanced Composite Structures Australia Pty Ltd & CRC-ACS, Australia

Keywords: epoxy, thermoplastic, interface, characterization, sem-edx

This paper investigates the formation of interfaces during the co-curing of an aerospace grade epoxy resin with PEI, PES, and PSU. The interface found in each scenario is characterized by optical microscopy, low voltage SEM-EDX and AFM where applicable. The morphology of each interface obtained is correlated with a thermodynamic approach based on the Hansen Solubility Parameter. Significant interdiffusion of more than 50 µm is found with PES, PEI and PSU. Nevertheless, a phase separation mechanism was evidenced only for PEI and PSU, and could not be detected with PES.

view full paper