Univariate and multivariate strategies for the rheological tests evaluation: Influence of additives in composite materials

Filler formulations are complex systems, characterized by a high number of components with different nature, as resins, extenders, additives. One of the main properties of a two-component epoxy filler used for yacht application is the rheology. Thus, rheological additives are studied in both components after different times from the production. Rheological analysis produces a very large amount of information so statistical methods are useful to elaborate the data. In this study, a univariate approach (ANOVA) and a multivariate data processing, namely, principal component analysis after low-level data fusion are carried out. It is shown that the multivariate approach provides the maximum useful information on the system. No differences are highlighted in the rheological behavior for the epoxy component, by using different additives while, for the polyamide component, the best rheological additive among the tested is the one that has a polyamide nature, being a polar system as itself.