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Abstract

Studies were carried out on the storage life of Room Temperature (RT)-curable prepregs comprising of two varieties of bi-functional epoxy resins (imported resin system and an equivalent grade of indigenous resin system) as matrices and bi-directional glass fabric as reinforcement. The hand-made pre-pregs were stored at sub-ambient temperature (-18°C). The resin flow of pre-preg was determined as a function of storage period. Composite laminates were vacuum molded using the pre-pregs taken out of the deep freezer. The composite specimens were characterized for their thermal (T_g) as well as mechanical properties. The properties obtained were compared with the properties of wet layed-up composites fabricated without the usage of pre-impregnated plies.

Keywords

glass-epoxy composite pre-pregs storage period glass transition temperature.

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Storage Life Studies on RT Cure Glass—Epoxy Pre-pregs

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