Investigating The Durability Of Thermoset Resin Under Different Temperature And Saturation Conditions

• Kayshavi Bakshi, Mechanical Engineering, Arizona State University

• Jovan Tatar, Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Delaware

Increasing use of composite materials in various fields such as aerospace, aviation, wind turbines and automotives have led to increase in post life disposal of composite materials in landfills. There exists a critical need to develop sustainable and recyclable composite materials. This project investigates the mechanical properties of reversible covalent adaptable networks within thermoset resin. Covalent adaptable networks otherwise known as CANs create dynamic bonds within the resin that can rearrange their bond structure to create a reversible and recyclable resin. Particularly, this research focuses on disulfide bonds as they can undergo bond metathesis after cleavage. Throughout the project a thermoset resin containing dynamic disulfide bonds is investigated to determine its mechanical properties and compare it to a traditional (irreversible, non-recyclable) epoxy. First, compressive tests were performed on the two resin samples to determine their key mechanical properties such as Young’s modulus and yield strength. Next, DMA tests were conducted to determine the glass transition temperature of the resin. Using the information from the first two tests, creep experiments were performed on both dry and saturated resin samples to characterize the durability and potential use in civil engineering applications.