Real time monitoring of cure and gelification of a thermoset matrix

The consolidation of a commercial thermoset resin has been completely monitored by using a unique fiber optic sensor integrating a refractometer and a fiber Bragg grating. In particular, the advancement and the evolution of the resin polymerization reaction have been followed by measuring the optical properties changes induced by the thermo-chemical transformations. On the other hand, the fiber Bragg grating has been used to detect on-line the resin gelification onset. The experimental results demonstrated the capability and the efficiency of the developed sensor system to provide complete information on the main phenomena occurring during the cure cycle of a thermoset based system.