Evaluation of processing temperature in the production of fibre reinforced epoxy composites

A group of cyanoethylated amine (CEA) has been synthesized by carefully reacting triethylenetetramine with varying proportions of acrylonitrile. Such CEAs were utilized as hardener for the curing of epoxy resin. The effect of cyanoethylation of amine on their curing reaction with epoxy resin has been studied by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The processing temperature for the fabrication of composite is estimated from the DSC analysis with an approach to satisfy the logical selection of temperature for application of pressure during processing of a composite structure. The exotherm of such curing reaction (?H _ex) and the degree of cyanoethylation (CEt) of the amine follow the relation ?H _ex ?=?(324?C68.40?CEt)?J?g^?1.