Week 8

This week in lab, glass and cellulose fibers were cut into 10 in squares to prepare for building the composite. The resin, which optimized the desired properties, contained 15% styrene and 15% MFA. Once the resin was prepared and the fibers were cut, tacky tape was used to make a vacuum-sealed apparatus, which is shown in the photo gallery. During the curing process, Styrene began to evaporate creating bubbles in the composite structure, which is predicted to weaken the mechanical properties of the composite. After the composite was removed from the glass slab, it was post cured over night in a 128 degree Celsius oven to finish the curing process. Once curing was complete, a layout containing .5 x 5 x .125 inch samples was drawn onto the composite to cut into bars to follow three point bend testing standards.