Obtention of high temperature resistant prepregs

ASARO LUCÍA; RIVERO GUADALUPE; MANFREDI LILIANA; RODRIGUEZ EXEQUIEL; ÁLVAREZ VERA

Bahía Blanca

Simposio; IX Simposio Argentino de Polímeros; 2011

The processing techniques used to obtain composite materials can be divided into two categories. In the first one, fibers and matrix are processed directly into the finished product or structure, for example in filament winding and pultrusion processes. In the second one, fibers are incorporated into the matrix to prepare ready-to-mold sheets that can be stored and later processed to form laminated structures by autoclave holding or compression molding. Ready-to-mold fiber-reinforced polymer sheets are available in two basic forms, prepregs and sheet-molding compounds (P K Mallick 2008). Two main criteria that influence the selection of prepregs for a particular application are the performance and cost. They are largely used in aerospace, energy obtaining, marine, sports and leisure. The most widely used process to obtain prepregs is the vacuum molding, where the fibers and resin are compacted due to the action of atmospheric pressure, and the air bubbles are eliminated. On the other hand, phenolic resins were the first thermosetting resins to be synthesized in 1907. This type of resin has been studied yet again due to its fire resistance property (Manfredi, et al. 1999). The aim of this work was to obtain and to characterize carbon fiber-phenolic resin prepregs. Nanoclays were added to phenolic resin in order to evaluate their effect on the performance of the material.