THERMO ANALYTICAL CASE STUDIES

This chapter investigates the physical properties of polymers using thermal analysis techniques. The effect of the presence of a solvent during the cure of a thermoharding system is discussed. The physical properties of cured resin systems are tested using rectangular casting samples and/or film samples on a metal background. The casting test samples are obtained after the cure of a proper resin/curing agent mixture without any solvent present. To make a film test sample, however, a solvent has to be added nearly always. The physical properties, such as the Tg-value, of such film samples after cure often seem to be lower than those of the solvent-free prepared casting samples. The three samples are then cured using the more or less standard temperature treatments. DSC measurements are subsequently used to measure the Tg-values of these systems.