Zone: Resins/Matrices

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DDG-1000 Zumwalt: Stealth warship
1/18/2010 Composites Technology: U.S. Navy navigates radar transparency, cost and weight challenges with composite superstructure design.
Seaworthy showcase: Post-consumer composite catamaran nears completion
1/14/2010 Composites Technology: Built entirely of recycled and recyclable reinforced thermoplastics, this novel sailing vessel will soon put into practice what its builders preach.
Tough I-beam bridge for tank traffic
11/16/2009 Composites Technology: Immiscible polymer blending combines the strength of HDPE and the stiffness of glass-reinforced PP to create I-beams with specific strength greater than steel.
Thermoplastic tubulars: Robust flexibility for offshore wells
9/7/2009 Composites Technology: In the oil and gas industry, a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite pipe (TCP) system from Airborne Composite Tubulars (The Hague, The Netherlands) is providing a less-expensive alternative to the traditional “rig” for flushing subsea wellhead stacks and injecting glycol under pressure.
Resins for the Hot Zone, Part II: BMIs, CEs, benzoxazines and phthalonitriles
8/18/2009 Composites Technology: Next-generation aerospace programs demand higher temperatures for structural and hot-section components, fostering advances in thermoset resin chemistry.

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Overview Of:
Resins/Matrices

The polymer matrices most widely used for composites in commercial and high-performance aerospace applications are thermoset resins, consisting of polymer chains that are permanently cured into a crosslinked network when mixed with a catalyst, exposed to heat, or both. Curing usually occurs under elevated temperature and/or pressure conditions in an oven and/or vacuum bag or in an autoclave. Alternative but less used curing technologies include electron beam, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, X-ray and microwave processes. The other most commonly used matrix type is thermoplastic (TP) resin, which is proving an increasingly popular option for composites manufacturers. Thermoplastic linear polymer chains are formed and can be reformed into shaped solids by melting or softening and then cooling the material. Often sold in sheet or panel form, thermoplastics can be processed by in-situ consolidation techniques, such as simple press forming (see "Fabrication methods," in "Learn More," at right) to make tough, near-net shape parts without the autoclave or vacuum-bag cure required by thermosets. TP reformability offers the potential to correct anomalies or repair in-service damage.