Second Generation Epoxy Resins and Soluble Fibre Technology for Liquid Resin Infusion

Epoxy resins are inherently brittle and can only be used in composite materials for aircraft secondary structures because of poor damage tolerance. Industry has developed a second generation of epoxy matrix composites with good damage tolerance by incorporating high performance engineering polymers into the matrix. Some systems also have thermoplastic or elastomeric particles within the interlaminar region of the composite. Such composites are now being used for primary structures on civil aircraft. However, it is not possible to use these toughened resin systems for resin infusion processes because of their high viscosity. This presentation describes the development of soluble fibre technology which enables thermoplastic-toughened epoxy resin composites to be manufactured for aerospace applications using liqui

Bio:

Terry is Director of the Irish Composites Centre (IComp) founded by Enterprise Ireland in 2010. Prior to joining IComp he had a very successful career as an industrial scientist specialising in polymers and composites. He has received awards from the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Institute of Materials for his contribution to composites science. Through IComp he is using his experience and expertise to lead a broad programme of R&D spread across four different Research Providing Organisations in support of the Irish composites industry.