Studies on thermal and morphological characteristics of E-glass/Kevlar 49 reinforced siliconized epoxy composites

Two different types of siliconized epoxy matrix systems are developed by interpenetrating technique using epoxy resins GY 250 and LY 556 (Ciba-Geigy) and hydroxyl terminated polydimethylsiloxane with γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane as cross-linker with dibutyltindilaurate catalyst and cured by aliphatic amine (HY 951, Ciba-Geigy), aromatic amine (HT 972, Ciba-Geigy) and polyamidoamine (HY 840, Ciba-Geigy). Electrical resistant glass (E-glass) and Kevlar 49 reinforced composites are fabricated by hand-lay-up technique using siliconized epoxy matrix systems. The effect of curatives and the percentage of siloxanes on the thermal and morphological characteristics of the siliconized epoxy polymer composites are studied. The siloxane incorporation enhances the thermal stability due to the ablative behaviour of siloxane moiety. E-glass fibre reinforcement shows better intermolecular adhesion to epoxy resin than Kevlar-49 reinforcement due to the presence of ionic sites. The siloxane introduction into epoxy resin improves the service temperature of the matrix systems.