The objective of this project is test the effects exfoliated graphite as on bisphenol E cyanate ester thermal and mechanical properties along with its curing kinetics.
Sponsored By: Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
Team Members
Brian Hazel | Nick Willetts | | |
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Project Summary
Overview
The potential enhancement of thermal conductivity, due to the addition of exfoliated graphite, in a composite comprised of a Bisphenol E Cyanate Ester (BECy) was studied in this project. The baseline sample containing only the hardener and ester was compared to that of five other specimen all containing varying concentrations of exfoliated graphite. To compare the specimen and the potential changes, multiple material testing methods were executed.
Objectives
Objectives:
- Examine:
- Curing Kinetics of all specimens
- Thermal conductivity
- Rate of conversion (Alpha)
- Additive dispersion
- Thermal Stability
- Flexural integrity (DMA)
Approach
Approach:
- Obtain Background and Theory:
- Material Research
- Historical Data
- Testing Instruments
- Analyzing skills for outputs
- Execute testing
- DSC: curing kinetics/alpha conversions
- TGA: Thermal Stability
- DMA: Thermomechanical properties/ Tg values
- SEM: Graphite dispersion through cross sectional images.
- Data Analyzation:
- Comparing each data set to one another to study all changes.
Outcomes
Outcomes:
- Importance of a repeatable data set.
- Understanding the molecular behavior of curing composites.
- Data analyzation for material testing.
- New understandings of how to apply certain material tests to obtain certain properties.
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