Paul E. McMahon

A New Polyester System for Automotive Composite Applications

aerospace applications. The epoxies were chosen for their good handling characteristics and good ambient and elevated temperature composite properties. However, epoxy resins have certain deficiencies in that the prepreg materials must be kept refrigerated, cost is higher than other available thermoset materials, and cure time is often long. In the aerospace industry where performance is the main criteria for using a particular resin system these negative features have not been considered significant problems. However, in the near future, automotive and industrial applications are expected to become major users of carbon fiber composite materials. The requirements necessary for many of these applications are expected to be quite different than those currently desired by the aerospace companies. Automotive companies will desire parts in high volumes, which will necessitate a composite system that will