Characterisation of two-part resin mix for aerospace composite part production at various mix conditions

Epoxy resin systems are widely used to produce composite materials across many industries. There are new studies being conducted on various epoxy resin systems but to date there has been no detailed studies conducted on the structural, chemical, rheological and thermal properties of the resin transfer moulding-2 (RTM6-2) epoxy resin system using different compositions. Therefore, this project is aimed at examining the properties of RTM6-2 mixtures using the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR), high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the rheometer. The experiments conducted on thirty different RTM6-2 mixtures characterised and systematically studied changes to their structural, chemical, rheological and thermal properties using different compositions. The experimental data determined that boundary conditions for the HPLC, FTIR and rheometer could be established to determine whether or not RTM6-2 mixtures are acceptable for the production of aerospace composite parts at Boeing Aerostructures Australia through resin infusion.