COMPOSITION OF AND METHOD FOR MAKING HIGH PERFORMANCE RESINSFOR INFUSION AND TRANSFER MOLDING PROCESSES

摘要

A composition of and method for making high performance imide resins that ar e processable by resin transfer molding (RTM) and resin infusion (RI) techniqu es were developed. Materials with a combination of properties, making them particularly useful for the fabrication of composite parts via RTM and/or RI processes, were prepared, characterized and fabricated into moldings and carbon fiber reinforced composites and their mechanical properties were determined. These materials are particularly useful for the fabrication of structural composite components for aerospace applications. The method for making high performance resins for RTM and RI processes is a multi-faceted approach. It involves the preparation of a mixture of products from a combination of aromatic diamines and aromatic dianhydrides at relatively low calculated molecular weights (i.e. high stoichiometric offsets) and endcappi ng with latent reactive groups. The combination of these monomers results in a mixture of products, in the imide form, that exhibits a stable melt viscosit y of less than approximately 60 poise below approximately 300 ~C.