Determination of Arrhenius Equation Constants for Curing Reaction Kinetics of Fusion Bonded Epoxy

Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), which measures the heat flow of the sample as a function of temperature, has extensively been used to study the cure kinetics of various thermosetting polymers. For thermal analysis with DSC instrument, standard methods like ASTM E 698 & E 2041 are used in this research. The curing kinetics of FBE was studied by non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry technique at different heating rates. A series of physical and chemical experiments have been conducted on variety of samples. These include evaluation of density, size distribution, moisture content and gel time. Accordingly the obtained results were accompanied by instrumental analysis including IR spectra studies on the raw samples. base on the findings, Arrhenius constants are obtained for the final cured products. The results show that to achieve a preferable curing reaction the profile of curing is in fact a function of time and temperature.