| Abstract: | The dynamic mechanical properties of blends of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A-based epoxy resin and internally epoxidized polybutadiene rubber have been studied. It is shown that the influence of the composition of the continuous phase and of the dispersed phase can be studied not only from the variations of the glass transition temperature but also from the changes in the apparent enthalpy of activation associated with this transition. As the initial rubber content increases, the composition of the dispersed phase remains practically constant while more rubber is able to dissolve in the continuous phase. Analysis of the rubbery plateau region reveals that the shear modulus of the blends is not much affected by the presence of dissolved rubber in the continuous phase but strongly depends on the volume fraction of dispersed phase. This volume fraction can be obtained from the relative drop in shear modulus after modeling the results with the Kerner equation. The results compares well with independent measurements by scanning electron microscopy. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |
