Study on phenomenological curing model of epoxy resin for prediction of degree of cure

Curing course of Huntsman 1564/3486 epoxy resin system was studied under dynamic and isothermal curing conditions by differential scanning calorimetry technique. The autocatalytic cure kinetic model was established to describe the curing behaviour. A new modified phenomenological curing model based on the Olivier??s model was proposed to predict the relationship between the degree of cure and the couple of time and temperature. Then, the degree of cure was calculated by both the kinetic model and the modified Olivier??s model. A comparison of the results calculated with the experimental data show that the modified Olivier??s model is more accurate in the later stage of the curing course, especially at high temperatures. The modified Olivier??s model is simple and easy to use, could be applied to predict the degree of cure at isothermal temperatures well in engineering.