Cure Monitoring of Carbon Fiber Prepreg

Samples from a single batch of carbon fiber reinforced prepreg (CFRP) were tested for repeatability and effect of temperature on cure rate. The data from dielectric cure monitoring clearly show:

• Critical Points identify characteristic features of the cure such as minimum ion viscosity, maximum slope of log(ion viscosity) and the time to a chosen end of cure 

• Cure time decreases as cure temperature increases, as expected for a reaction that is thermally driven