Concept for Darcy-based viscosity measurement for fast-curing resin systems

Abstract

Introduction The demand for shorter cycle times in processes such as Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) has forced up the development of highly reactive resin systems. Some resin systems can reach complete curing in less than one minute. Simultaneously, knowledge about the resin processing characteristics, especially the timeand temperature-dependent viscosity, is essential for the process design. But, given the extremely fast reaction of highly reactive resin systems, the limitations of conventional viscosity measurement approaches, such as shear rheometers, are often exceeded. Especially at the beginning of the reaction no values are captured, due to mixing and application procedures.