Near-infrared spectroscopy in resin transfer molding—determination of the degree of cure

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External Organisational units

  • I-RED Infrarot Systeme GmbH

Abstract

Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is employed to directly monitor the degree of cure of composite material during the curing phase in the resin transfer molding (RTM) process. The composite material consists of natural fibers and an epoxy-amine resin system. The quantitative determination of the degree of cure, α, from the NIR spectra is realized by partial least square (PLS) regression in conjunction with various pre-treatments of the spectral data. As a reference, the degree of cure is determined by isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) experiments. The best PLS model that could be obtained for α is characterized by a determination coefficient of prediction (R²P) of 0.980 and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 4.4 %. While the spectra change during curing according to the literature for each RTM trial, significant differences can be observed between the spectra of different RTM trials. The reasons for this are discussed in detail. The findings show the potential of inline NIR spectroscopy for monitoring α in the RTM process.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)5557-5565
Number of pages9
JournalInternational Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology
Volume132.2024
Issue number11-12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2024