Abstract
The in situ polymerization of ϵ-caprolactam in a carbon fiber mat is a promising technology for the production of carbon fiber-reinforced polyamide 6 (CFRPA6) parts. There is a strong demand for a kinetic model of viscosity development of polyamide 6 (PA6) in computer-aided engineering applications. In this study, a viscosity model was developed by modifying the Castro-Macosko model to include simultaneous polymerization and crystallization effects. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to measure a heat flow curve that involved the polymerization and crystallization kinetics from 50 to 250 °C at various heating rates. The peak separation of the measured heat flow curves was used to elucidate the individual polymerization and crystallization heat flow curves. The Kamal and generalized Avrami models were used to obtain kinetic parameters by fitting the heat flow curves of polymerization and crystallization, respectively. An isothermal rheological measurement was performed to measure the increase in viscosity caused by the polymerization and crystallization at a steady shear rate at reaction temperatures from 100 to 200 °C (at 10 °C intervals). A modified Castro-Macosko model was useful to fit the viscosity data at 110 and 140 °C to determine parameters using the monomer conversion estimation from the Kamal model and the degree of crystallization from the generalized Avrami model.
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Taki, K., Shoji, N., Kobayashi, M. et al. A kinetic model of viscosity development for in situ ring-opening anionic polymerization of ϵ-caprolactam. Microsyst Technol 23, 1161–1169 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-016-3045-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-016-3045-6