Microwave Processing of Polyester and Polyester Glass Composites,

Polyester resins and polyesterglass composites were processed using 2.45GHz microwave radiation in single mode resonant cavities. An alkyl phthalate polyester resin diluted with vinyltoluene and a unidirectional glass fiberpolyester diallyl phthalate prepreg were examined. In the study of polymerization kinetics, a 6 inch diameter resonant cavity and a thin film technique were used to cure neat resin samples. Thermal curing was carried out for comparison. The extents of cure of the samples were determined using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometry FTIR. Faster reaction rates microwave processing polyester polyesterglass composite extent of cure dielectric measurement mode switching.