Room Temperature Cure Hydrocarbon Matrix Resin for Low Cost RTM and FW Composites

Polymer matrix composites can play a major role in decreasing the weight of advanced aerospace vehicles, but their cost must be lowered and reliability improved. Matrix resins that cure at room temperature and manufacturing methods that can readily be automated are technological advances that can achieve these needed improvements. Foster-Miller proposes to develop a new type of RTM and FW processible, room temperature-cure (RTC) composite resin matrix that meets/exceeds the requirements of aerospace epoxy resin, and produces composites at lower cost and greater reliability than conventional hand lay-up procedures. Our approach combines three enabling technologies to produce this innovative, low-cost RTC/RTM composite. These enabling technologies include hydrocarbon reactive resins, peroxide accelerator/promoter chemistry and RTM or FW processing. During RTM, low viscosity RTC/RTM resin will fill the mold quickly at low pressures. The specially catalyzed/promoted resin will initiate cure within the mold at room temperature, producing a hard, rigid, composite structure that meets the requirements at 10% lower density than epoxy composites. Our team includes experts in hydrocarbon resins as well as a resin supplier. The multi-use potential of the low-cost, easily processed, more reliable RTC/RTM composite will facilitate its application to a wide range of military and commercial transportation vehicles.