Rapid multiple-front polymerization of fiber-reinforced polymer composites

Centellas, Polette J.; Yourdkhani, Mostafa; Vyas, Sagar; Koohbor, Behrad; Geubelle, Philippe H.; Sottos, Nancy R.

doi:10.1016/j.compositesa.2022.106931

Cited by 28 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Additionally, practical implementation in large-scale industrial settings requires multisite ignition in order to reasonably and quickly cure massive materials and components. ,,,, The dynamics of multifront systems create several key dilemmas; when two fronts meet, for example, heat dissipation becomes problematic as there is no longer a cold monomer heat sink to prevent uncontrolled spontaneous polymerization. As a result, the front junction displays significantly less desirable mechanical properties than the other portions of the polymer.…”

Section: Applications Of Frontal Polymerizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frontal Polymerizations: From Chemical Perspectives to Macroscopic Properties and Applications

et al. 2023

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The synthesis and processing of most thermoplastics and thermoset polymeric materials rely on energy-inefficient and environmentally burdensome manufacturing methods. Frontal polymerization is an attractive, scalable alternative due to its exploitation of polymerization heat that is generally wasted and unutilized. The only external energy needed for frontal polymerization is an initial thermal (or photo) stimulus that locally ignites the reaction. The subsequent reaction exothermicity provides local heating; the transport of this thermal energy to neighboring monomers in either a liquid or gel-like state results in a self-perpetuating reaction zone that provides fully cured thermosets and thermoplastics. Propagation of this polymerization front continues through the unreacted monomer media until either all reactants are consumed or sufficient heat loss stalls further reaction. Several different polymerization mechanisms support frontal processes, including free-radical, cat-or anionic, amine-cure epoxides, and ring-opening metathesis polymerization. The choice of monomer, initiator/catalyst, and additives dictates how fast the polymer front traverses the reactant medium, as well as the maximum temperature achievable. Numerous applications of frontally generated materials exist, ranging from porous substrate reinforcement to fabrication of patterned composites. In this review, we examine in detail the physical and chemical phenomena that govern frontal polymerization, as well as outline the existing applications.

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Section: Applications Of Frontal Polymerizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frontal Polymerizations: From Chemical Perspectives to Macroscopic Properties and Applications

et al. 2023

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“…Practical implementation in industrial settings requires multi-site ignition in order to reasonably cure massive materials. 32,66,102,166,263 The dynamics of multi-front systems create several key dilemmas; when two fronts meet, for example, heat dissipation becomes problematic as there is no longer a cold monomer heat sink to prevent uncontrolled spontaneous polymerization. As a result, the front junction displays significantly less desirable mechanical properties than the other portions of the polymer.…”

Section: Large-scale Fabrication and 3d-printingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frontal Polymerizations: From Chemical Perspectives to Macroscopic Properties and Applications

Suslick

Hemmer

Groce

et al. 2022

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The synthesis and processing of thermoplastics and thermoset polymeric materials rely on energy-inefficient and environmentally burdensome manufacturing methods. Frontal polymerization has emerged as an attractive, scalable alternative due to its exploitation of the heat of polymerization, which generally is wasted as unutilized heat-loss. The only external energy needed for frontal polymerization is an initial thermal (or photo) stimulus that locally ignites the reaction. The subsequent reaction exothermicity provides local heating; the transport of this thermal energy to neighboring monomers in either a liquid or gel-like state results in a self-perpetuating reaction zone that provides fully-cured polymeric thermosets and thermoplastics. Propagation of this polymerization front continues through the unreacted monomer media until either all reactants are consumed or sufficient heat-loss stalls further reaction. Several different polymerization mechanisms support frontal processes, including free-radical, cat- or anionic, amine-cure epoxides, and ring-opening metathesis polymerization. The choice of monomer, initiator/catalyst, and additives dictates how fast the polymer front traverses the reactant medium, as well as the maximum temperature achievable. Frontal polymerization enables the preparation of moldable thermoplastics derived from linear polymers. When crosslinking is involved, polymeric networks (e.g., rigid thermosets) are obtainable through a related process best described as a frontal curing reaction. Numerous applications of frontally-generated polymers and thermosets exist, ranging from the reinforcement of porous substrates to the design of patterned composite materials. In this review, we examine in detail the physical and chemical phenomena that govern frontal polymerization, as well as outline the existing applications.

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“…Among various frontally polymerizable resin systems, dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) is of great interest for fabricating FRPCs due to its excellent front properties and low resin viscosity combined with the good thermomechanical properties of the resulting polydicyclopentadiene (pDCPD) polymer. − Frontal ring opening metathesis polymerization (FROMP) of DCPD with tunable pot life has been recently shown using Grubbs' catalyst and phosphite inhibitors. ,− FP of DCPD has been recently used to produce FRPC panels with up to 50 vol % of carbon fibers by in-plane initiation and propagation (i.e., within the plane of reinforcements) of the reaction front. ,, However, the scalability and practical applications of the in-plane FP of DCPD is hindered by several processing issues and limitations. Self-sustaining propagation of the FP reaction in the presence of a high volume fraction of reinforcements has been demonstrated using a highly thermally insulating tooling material (i.e., polymer foams) to minimize the heat loss to the substrate during polymerization and mitigate the risk of frontal quenching. ,, Such tooling materials however are not common in the composite industry and are challenging to form and machine. Even though the use of the thermally insulating tooling helped to maintain a self-sustaining front within the composite layup, the resulting composite panel had a low degree of cure of ∼80%, due to the reduced energy density of resin and heat losses through boundaries.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…32,36−38 FP of DCPD has been recently used to produce FRPC panels with up to 50 vol % of carbon fibers by in-plane initiation and propagation (i.e., within the plane of reinforcements) of the reaction front. 32,33,39 However, the scalability and practical applications of the in-plane FP of DCPD is hindered by several processing issues and limitations. Self-sustaining propagation of the FP reaction in the presence of a high volume fraction of reinforcements has been demonstrated using a highly thermally insulating tooling material (i.e., polymer foams) to minimize the heat loss to the substrate during polymerization and mitigate the risk of frontal quenching.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Self-sustaining propagation of the FP reaction in the presence of a high volume fraction of reinforcements has been demonstrated using a highly thermally insulating tooling material (i.e., polymer foams) to minimize the heat loss to the substrate during polymerization and mitigate the risk of frontal quenching. 32,33,39 Such tooling materials however are not common in the composite industry and are challenging to form and machine. Even though the use of the thermally insulating tooling helped to maintain a selfsustaining front within the composite layup, the resulting composite panel had a low degree of cure of ∼80%, due to the reduced energy density of resin and heat losses through boundaries.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rapid and Energy-Efficient Frontal Curing of Multifunctional Composites Using Integrated Nanostructured Heaters

Naseri

Yourdkhani

2022

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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Current technologies for the manufacture of fiberreinforced polymer composites are energy-intensive, environmentally unfriendly, and time-consuming and require expensive equipment and resources. In addition, composites typically lack key nonstructural functionalities (e.g., electrical conductivity for deicing, lightning strike protection, and structural health monitoring), which are crucial to many applications such as aerospace and wind energy. Here, we present a new approach for rapid and energy-efficient manufacturing of multifunctional composites without using traditional expensive autoclaves, ovens, or heated molds used for curing of composites. Our approach is predicated on embedding a thin conductive nanostructured paper in the composite layup to act as a resistive heater for triggering frontal polymerization of the matrix thermosetting resin of the composite laminate. Upon passing electric current, the nanostructured paper quickly heats up and initiates frontal polymerization, which then rapidly propagates through the thickness of the laminate, resulting in rapid curing of composites (within seconds to few minutes) irrespective of the size of the composite laminate. The integrated nanostructured paper remains advantageous during the service of the composite part by imparting new functionalities (e.g., deicing) to the cured composite, owing to its excellent electrical conductivity and electrothermal properties. In this work, we first study the influence of several composite processing parameters on the electrothermal properties of the nanostructured paper and determine the power required for rapid initiation of frontal polymerization. We then successfully fabricate a 10 cm × 10 cm composite panel within 1 min using only 4.49 kJ of energy, which is 4 orders of magnitude less than the energy consumed by the traditional bulk, oven-curing technique. Detailed experiments are conducted to provide an in-depth understanding of the effect of heater position, tooling material, and input power on frontal curing of composite laminates. The multifunctional response of produced composites is demonstrated by performing a deicing experiment, where a 50 × 50 × 3 mm 3 cube of ice is completely melted within 3 min using an input power of 77 W.

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Rapid multiple-front polymerization of fiber-reinforced polymer composites

Cited by 28 publications

References 23 publications

Frontal Polymerizations: From Chemical Perspectives to Macroscopic Properties and Applications

Frontal Polymerizations: From Chemical Perspectives to Macroscopic Properties and Applications

Frontal Polymerizations: From Chemical Perspectives to Macroscopic Properties and Applications

Rapid and Energy-Efficient Frontal Curing of Multifunctional Composites Using Integrated Nanostructured Heaters

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