CURING OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS USING THE RECENTLY DEVELOPED HEPHAISTOS MICROWAVE

摘要

Carbon-fibre reinforced epoxy prepreg laminates were cured using the VHM (Votsch Hephaistos Microwave) microwave, which the manufacturer claims has tackled key issues associated with microwave processing of composites, such as nonhomogeneous microwave distribution, the difficulty of using metallic tooling and vacuum bagging in a microwave environment, and arcing, thus providing a very significant difference to other systems in the past. The different, and sometimes relatively inconclusive, results obtained in past work could be attributed to the different systems employed. The VHM system has allowed researchers to more accurately assess the real effects of microwave technology for processing polymer matrix composites (PMCs). The performance of the samples produced was evaluated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), optical microscopy and mechanical testing. The results have been compared to samples cured conventionally.