Cure Monitoring and Control with Combined Dielectric/Temperature Probes

摘要

The dielectric and conductive properties of resins used as adhesives and as matrices in composites undergo large changes during cure. The use of these changing electrical properties to monitor cure is a well established technique. The most common structure for such measurements is a parallel plate capacitor using fixed metal plates or metal foils. A relatively new alternative structure is the Microdielectrometer chip, a miniature integrated circuit probe that can be embedded in the sample under test. This paper reports a new development in Microdielectrometry technology, the addition of a temperature sensor to the probe. The combined dielectric temperature probe provides highly localized measurements of both temperature and changing dielectric properties. Data are presented that illustrate the use of the Microdielectrometer to detect the viscosity minimum during cure of staged prepreg resin, and the use of the on-chip temperature feature to provide feedback control signals during a test cure. (Author)