High Temperature Matrices for Filament Wound Composites

Despite the extensive research expended on developing high Tg resins for composite filament winding applications, these resins require heated processing which limits their general acceptance in current production facilities. New filament winding matrix resins are therefore under development to overcome this limitation. TRI/Austin developed preliminary hybrid resin formulations in Phase I that are low viscosity at room temperature and have glass transitions of over 300C. In addition, it was found that thermal stability and char yield was in excess of the predicted values. This may be attributable to a synergistic char formation mechanism between the two polymers in the hybrid during decomposition. The improvement in thermal stability is potentially relevant in terms of eliminating the secondary thermal barrier coating that is sometimes necessary on rocket motor casings. The overall objective of the Phase II research effort will be the transition of the developed resins system to a production environment. Working closely with ARC and AMCOM, TRI-Austin will fabricate and test representative pressure vessels for Phase II demonstration. These composite pressure vessels will be fabricated utilizing candidate materials, and the degree to which the resins are compatible with current processing techniques will be demonstrated.