The determination of the mechanical properties of thermoset resin and their evolution during transformation still represents a scientific issue in the composite materials community. A homemade apparatus named PvTα has recently been adapted to the measurement of neat resin bulk modulus evolution during cure and has been presented in a previous study. Several assumptions were used to directly obtain this value but they cannot be checked in situ. A multi-physic modelling of the system is proposed for this purpose in this paper. It accounts for the thermal, chemical and mechanical behaviours of the different components of the apparatus as well as their interactions during an experiment. This model is thoroughly validated thanks to several comparisons with experimental results. This study shows that the early assumptions are not verified during the whole cure in the case of RTM6 resin. It leads to 40% error in the bulk modulus estimation, thus making impossible a direct measurement of the resin bulk modulus using the simple protocol proposed by Nawab et al. A new procedure, which is based on the developed model, is proposed to improve the analysis accuracy.
AlbertAFernlundG. Spring-in and warpage of angled composite laminates. Compos Sci Technol2002; 62: 1895–1912.
2.
SvanberfJMHolmberfJA. Prediction of shape distortions. Part II: experimental validation and analysis of boundary conditions. Compos A Appl Sci Manuf2004; 35: 723–734.
3.
WisnomMRGigliottiMErsoyN. Mechanisms generating residual stresses and distortion during manufacture of polymer–matrix composite structures. Compos A Appl Sci Manuf2006; 37: 522–529.
4.
LowIM. Effects of residual stresses on the failure micromechanisms in toughened epoxy systems. J Mater Sci1990; 25: 2144–2148.
5.
SirivedinSFennerDNNathRB. Matrix crack propagation criteria for model short-carbon fibre/epoxy composites. Compos Sci Technol2000; 60: 2835–2847.
6.
BogettiTAGillespieJW. Process-induced stress and deformation in thick-section thermoset composite laminates. J Compos Mat1992; 26: 626–660.
7.
WhiteSRKimYK. Process-induced residual stress analysis of AS4/3501-6 composite material. Mech Compos Mat Struct1998; 5: 153–186.
8.
MsallemYAJacqueminFBoyardN. Material characterization and residual stresses simulation during the manufacturing process of epoxy matrix composites. Compos A Appl Sci Manuf2010; 41: 108–115.
9.
NawabYShahidSBoyardN. Chemical shrinkage characterization techniques for thermoset resins and associated composites. J Mater Sci2013; 48: 5387–5409.
10.
KravchenkoOGLiCStrachanA. Prediction of the chemical and thermal shrinkage in a thermoset polymer. Compos A Appl Sci Manuf2014; 66: 35–43.
11.
BaranIAkkermanRHattelJH. Material characterization of a polyester resin system for the pultrusion process. Compos B Eng2014; 64: 194–201.
12.
LindroseAM. Ultrasonic wave and moduli changes in a curing epoxy resin. Exp Mech1978; 18: 227–232.
13.
FreemantleRJChallisRE. Combined compression and shear wave ultrasonic measurements on curing adhesive. Meas Sci Technol1998; 9: 1291–1302.
14.
DixonSJaquesDPalmerSB. The development of shear and compression elastic moduli in curing epoxy adhesives measured using non-contact ultrasonic transducers. J Phys D Appl Phys2003; 36: 753–759.
15.
MengYBernazzaniPO’ConnellPA. A new pressurizable dilatometer for measuring the time-dependent bulk modulus and pressure-volume-temperature properties of polymeric materials. Rev Sci Instrum2009; 80: 053903–053903.
16.
NawabYCasariPBoyardN. Characterization of the cure shrinkage, reaction kinetics, bulk modulus and thermal conductivity of thermoset resin from a single experiment. J Mater Sci2013; 48: 2394–2403.
17.
BoyardNVayerMSinturelC. Analysis and modeling of PVTX diagram of an unsaturated polyester resin, thermoplastic additive, and mineral fillers blend. J Appl Polym Sci2003; 88: 1258–1267.
18.
AdurizXALupiCBoyardN. Quantitative control of RTM6 epoxy resin polymerisation by optical index determination. Compos Sci Technol2007; 67: 3196–3201.
19.
NawabYTardifXBoyardN. Determination and modelling of the cure shrinkage of epoxy vinylester resin and associated composites by considering thermal gradients. Compos Sci Technol2012; 73: 81–87.
20.
HechtF. New development in Freefem++. J Numer Math2012; 3–4: 251–266.
21.
BoyardNSobotkaVDelaunayDTheoretical modeling of the curing process. In: ThomasSSinturelCThomasR (eds). Micro- and nanostructured epoxy/rubber blends, Weinheim: Wiley, 2014, pp. 105–126.
ZienkiewiczOC. The finite element method: its basis and fundamentals, 6th ed. Oxford: Elsevier, 2005.
24.
O’BrienDJMatherPTWhiteSR. Viscoelastic properties of an epoxy resin during cure. J Compos Mat2001; 35: 883–904.
25.
AdolfDMartinJE. Calculation of stresses in crosslinking polymers. J Compos Mat1996; 30: 13–34.
26.
Van’t Hof C. Mechanical characterization and modeling of curing thermosets. PhD Dissertation, TU Delft, Delft University of Technology, Delft, 2006.
27.
LionAHöferP. On the phenomenological representation of curing phenomena in continuum mechanics. Arch Mech2007; 59: 59–89.
28.
HossainMPossartGSteinmannP. A small-strain model to simulate the curing of thermosets. Comput Mech2009; 43: 769–779.
29.
HossainMSteinmannP. Degree of cure-dependent modelling for polymer curing processes at small-strain. Part I: consistent reformulation. Comput Mech2014; 53: 777–787.
30.
ASTM D575-91:105-107. Standard Test Methods for Rubber Properties in Compression, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2012, www.astm.org.
31.
ASTM D472-68:92-102. ASTM D412-15a, Standard Test Methods for Vulcanized Rubber and Thermoplastic Elastomers–Tension, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2015, www.astm.org.
32.
Lecointe D. Caractérisation et simulation des processus de transferts lors d’injection de résine pour le procédé RTM. PhD dissertation, Université de Nantes, Nantes, 1999.
33.
ArnoldDNBrezziFFortinM. A stable finite element for the stokes equations. Calcolo1984; 21: 337–344.
34.
TardifXAgazziASobotkaV. A multifunctional device to determine specific volume, thermal conductivity and crystallization kinetics of semi-crystalline polymers. Polym Testing2012; 31: 819–827.
