• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.409-417
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• 2003

Cure monitoring can be used to improve the quality and productivity of thermosetting resin matrix composite products during their manufacturing process. In this work, the sensitivity of dielectrometry was improved by adequate separation the efforts of sensor and externals on the measured signal. A new algorithm to obtain the degree of cure during dielectric cure monitoring of glass/polyester and glass/epoxy composites was developed by employing a function of both temperature and dissipation factor, in which five cure monitoring parameters were used to calculate the degree of cure. The decreasing pattern of dissipation factor was compared with the relationships between the degree of cure and the resin viscosity. The developed algorithm might be employed for the in situ cure monitoring of thermosetting resin composites.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.211-216
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• 2016

In several industrial fields, epoxy resin is widely used as an adhesive for co-curing and manufacturing various structures. Controlling the manufacturing process is required for ensuring robust bonding performance and the stability of the structures. A fiber optic sensor is suitable for the cure monitoring of epoxy resin owing to the thready shape of the sensor. In this paper, a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor was applied for the cure monitoring of epoxy resin. Based on the experimental results, it was demonstrated that the FBG sensor can monitor the status of epoxy resin curing by measuring the strain caused by volume shrinkage and considering the compensation of temperature. In addition, two types of epoxy resin were used for the cure-monitoring; moreover, when compared to each other, it was found that the two types of epoxy had different cure-processes in terms of the change of strain during the curing. Therefore, the study proved that the FBG sensor is very profitable for the cure-monitoring of epoxy resin.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.189-194
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• 2003

Interfacial evaluation, damage sensing and cure monitoring of single carbon fiber/thermo setting composite with different curing processes were investigated using electro-micromechanical test. After curing, the residual stress was monitored by measurement of electrical resistance and then compared to various curing processes. In thermal curing case, matrix tensile strength, modulus and interfacial shear strength were higher than those of ultraviolet curing case. The shrinkage measured during thermal curing occurred significantly by matrix shrinkage and residual stress due to the difference in thermal expansion coefficient. The apparent modulus measured in the thermal curing indicated that mechanical and interfacial properties were highly improved. The reaching time to the same stress of thermal curing was faster than that of UV curing case.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.217-224
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• 2016

This paper presents a new technique for monitoring the concrete curing process using embedded piezoelectric transducers via admittance measurements. When a piezoelectric transducer is embedded in a structure, the electrical impedance (admittance) of the transducer is coupled with the mechanical impedance of the host structure, which allows monitoring of the structural condition. In this study, the admittance signatures are used for monitoring the concrete curing process. This new method is based on an admittance-based sensor diagnostic process, in which the capacitance values of the piezoelectric transducers are dependent on the strength of the host structure. We numerically and experimentally investigated the variations in capacitive value during the curing process. The results demonstrate that there is a clear relationship between the concrete curing status and the slope, this indicates that the proposed method could be efficiently used for monitoring the curing status of a concrete structure.

• Composites Research
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.51-58
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• 2003

Since the reliability of adhesively bonded joints is much dependent on the curing status of thermosetting adhesive, the on-line cure monitoring during the cure of adhesively joints could improve the quality of adhesively bonded joints. In this work, the dielectric method which measures the dissipation factor of the adhesive during the cure of joints and converts it into the degree of cure of the adhesive was devised. The relation between the dissipation factor and the degree of cure of adhesive was investigated, which could eliminate the temperature effect on the dissipation factor that is a strong function of the degree of cure and temperature of adhesive. From the investigation, it was found that the dissipation factor showed a trend similar to the cure rate of the adhesive.

• Composites Research
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.30-38
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• 2001

As fiber reinforced composite materials are widely used in aircraft, space structures and robot arms, the on-line cure monitoring during the cure process of the composite materials has become an important research area for the better quality and productivity. In this paper, the dielectric circuit of the Wheatstone bridge type for measuring the dissipation factor during cure of thermsetting resin matrix composite materials was designed and manufactured. Also, the dielectric sensor for the cure monitoring of high temperature cure composites was developed and tested. The residual thermal stresses of the dielectric sensor during high temperature cure were analyzed by the finite element method and its dielectric characteristics at high temperature cure were analyzed by the finite element method and its dielectric characteristics at high temperature were evaluated. The on-line cure monitoring of the BMI(Bismaleimide) resin was performed using the developed Wheatstone bridge type circuit and the high-temperature dielectric sensor.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.797-803
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• 2001

The on-line cure monitoring of fiber reinforced thermosetting resin matrix composite material was performed for the better quality and productivity during manufacturing. Since the dissipation factor measured by dielectrometry method is dependent on the degree of cure and temperature of resin, in this study, a new method to obtain the degree of cure during on-line cure monitoring for glass/polyester composites was developed by employing a combination function of the temperature and the dissipation factor. Two sensor signals from a K-type thermocouple and an interdigitated dielectric sensor were processed during curing process under various cure cycles. The DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimetry) data was also used for the reference of degree of cure.

• Composites Research
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.202-208
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• 2017

Resin transfer molding (RTM) is a mass production process that allows the fabrication of composites ranging in size from small to large. Recently, fast curing resins with a curing time of less than about 10 minutes have been used in the automotive and aerospace industries. The viscosity of resin is bound up with the degree of cure, and it can be changed rapidly in the fast-cure resin system during the mold filling process. Therefore, it is advantageous to experimentally measure and evaluate the degree of cure because it requires much effort to predict the flow characteristics and cure of the fast curing resin. DMA and dielectric technique are the typical methods to measure the degree of cure of composite materials. In this paper, the resin flow and degree of cure were measured through the multi-channel dielectric system. A total of 8 channels of dielectric sensors were used and resin flow and degree of cure were measured and compared with each other under various pressure conditions.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers
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• v.19 no.7
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• pp.1563-1572
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• 1995

The on-line cure monitoring during the cure process of fiber reinforced resin matrix composite material is important for the better quality and productivity. Among several cure monitoring methods, the dielectrometry that uses electrodes as its sensor is known to be the most promising method. In this study, the sensitivity of the dielectric sensor for the on-line cure monitoring was analyzed by finite element method and compared to the experimental results. Using the analytical results, the equation for the capacitance of the sensor was derived. Also, the optimal sensor design method was suggested after analyzing several different sensor shapes.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society For Composite Materials Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.42-45
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• 2000

The properties of thermosetting resins are dependent on the degree of cure and consolidation quality. Since the consolidation process of thermosetting resin matrix fiber composites is much dependent on the viscosity of resin in the composites, in this study, the dissipation factor which is a function of viscosity was measured by the newly developed Lacomtech dielectrometry apparatus and sensors. Using the measured dissipation factors, the relationship between the dissipation factor and degree of cure with respect to environmental temperature was investigated.