Curing kinetics and chemorheology of epoxy/anhydride system

The Curing kinetics and chemorheology of a low-viscosity laminating system, based on a bisphenol A epoxy resin, an anhydride curing agent, and a heterocyclic amine accelerator, are investigated. The curing kinetics are studied in both dynamic and isothermal conditions by means of differential scanning calorimetry. The steady shear and dynamic viscosity are measured throughout the epoxy/anhydride cure. The curing kinetics of the thermoset system is described by a modified Kamal kinetic model, accounting for the diffusion-control effect. A chemorheological model that describes the system viscosity as a function of temperature and conversion is proposed. This model is a combination of the Williams-Landel-Ferry equation and a conversion term originally used by Castro and Macosko. A good agreement between the predicted and experimental results is obtained. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.