Abstract
Electron beam, or E-beam, curing of composite structures has been successfully demonstrated over the past several years. Under a prior Phase I SBIR program, electron beam cured composite pressure vessels exhibited delivered strength comparable to a conventional, thermally cured IM7 graphite/epoxy composite material system. This paper presents the results of the Phase II development and demonstration program to further develop and characterize E-beam curable resin systems for filament would composite structures and to demonstrate the technology for a representative small diameter composite rocket motor case application. Filament winding and electron-beam curing process development and characterization testing involving several different E-beam resin formulations has been performed to assess the influence of factors such as resin viscosity, process temperature and E-beam process conditions on shear strength, resin content, and burst pressure. E-beam curable resin formulations offering improved performance at higher temperatures have also been evaluated. Resin systems selected for full-scale demonstration included wet-winding formulations and a higher Tg towpreg system. Hydrostatic pressure testing of full-scale motor cases has demonstrated that electron beam cured composite cases achieve delivered burst strength performance comparable to conventional thermally cured composite motor cases.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 570-584 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | International SAMPE Symposium and Exhibition (Proceedings) |
| Volume | 47 I |
| State | Published - 2002 |
| Externally published | Yes |
| Event | 47th International SAMPE Symposium and Exhibition - Long Beach, CA, United States Duration: May 12 2002 → May 16 2002 |
Keywords
- Composite structures
- Electron beam curing
- Filament winding