Environmentally Friendly Bio-Based Vinyl Ester Resins for Military Composite Structures

摘要

Liquid resins used for molding composite structures a significant source of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions. One method of reducing styrene emissions from vinyl ester (VE) resins is to replace some or all of the styrene with fatty acid-based monomers. These fatty acid vinyl ester resins allow for the formulation of high performance composite resins with no more than 25 wt% styrene. As a result, these resins are currently being demonstrated/validated for DoD use on Army tactical vehicles, including HMMWV hoods, HMMWV helmet hardtops, T-38 dorsal covers, and composite rudders for the Navy. Composite panel validation studies have been performed, showing that the fatty acid-based resins have sufficient, modulus, strength, glass transition temperature, and resistance to weathering. Demonstration parts have been prepared and are in the process of being validated for military use.