Comparison Of The Dynamic Curing Kinetics Of Araldite DLS 772 4 4 DDS Epoxy System Using Differential Scanning Calorimetry And Microwave Heated Calorimeter

Abstract - Comparative studies were carried out on the curing kinetics of an epoxy resin Araldite DLS 772 mixed with a hardener 4 4 Diaminodiphenyl sulfone. Differential scanning calorimetry and a microwave heating calorimeter were used to monitor the curing kinetics of conventionally and microwave cured epoxy samples. These studies were carried out under non-isothermal conditions using five different heating rates. There was a significant increase in the fractional conversion of the microwave cured samples compared to the conventionally cured samples. The curing reactions for samples cured using microwave heating took place over a smaller temperature range. Higher reaction rates were observed in the samples cured using microwave heating. The activation energies of the microwave cured samples of Araldite DLS 772 4 4DDS epoxy system were about ten percent lower than activation energies of conventionally cured samples.