Simulation of isothermal cure of A powder coating

The curing of a thermosetting powder coating was studied by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The isothermal cure was simulated by non-isothermal experiments. The results of the simulation were compared with experimental isothermal data. From non-isothermal isoconversional procedures (free model), it was concluded that these permit simulation of the isothermal cure but do not enable us to determine the complete kinetic triplet (A preexponential factor, E activation energy, f(a) and/or g(a) function of conversion). Non-isothermal procedures based on a single heating rate or on master curves present difficulties for determination of all the kinetic parameters, due to the compensation effect between preexponential factor and activation energy. The kinetic triplet can be determined by a combination of various non-isothermal methods or by using experimental isothermal data in addition to non-isothermal data. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.