The development of structural thermosetting composites is now widely exploited in the transport field, allowing for simultaneously having structural properties and mass reduction. Their applicability presents several advantages, including a lower temperature for processing the materials than other structural materials (i.e., metals). For the transport sector, weight saving allows reducing CO2 emissions and energy consumption during the in-service vehicles. Different research papers have highlighted that the manufacturing process is one of the most critical phases for the environmental impact of composite production. Currently, the primary process for producing epoxy composites (curing in an autoclave) is energy, time-consuming, and hardly tunable. Moreover, it often causes, during the curing cycle, gradients of temperatures in the components that may lead to the generation of microcracks or stress concentration. In light of these premises, the present research aims to present an energy-saving and highly tunable alternative process realized through electro-curing. The fluid epoxy resin is filled with carbonaceous electrically conductive nanofillers (multi-wall carbon nanotubes) to obtain a conductive mixture to be electrically cured via the Joule effect, obtaining a final product with a curing degree higher than the samples cured in an oven and requiring less than 10% of the energy compared to the autoclave process. Using the electro-curing process, the necessary energy for curing the samples is directly generated inside the resin via the Joule effect. Moreover, the electro-curing is highly and rapidly tunable since the energy generated in the sample is strictly related to the applied voltage and, so, the applied power. In the present research paper, a multi-step electro-curing process has been pursued and compared to samples cured in an oven. These results make electro-curing a promising method for producing thermosetting composites due to the substantial reduction of the environmental impact.
Electro-curing: Saving Energy for the Manufacturing of Structural Resins is Possible
Longo R.;Vertuccio L.;Guadagno L.
2025
Abstract
The development of structural thermosetting composites is now widely exploited in the transport field, allowing for simultaneously having structural properties and mass reduction. Their applicability presents several advantages, including a lower temperature for processing the materials than other structural materials (i.e., metals). For the transport sector, weight saving allows reducing CO2 emissions and energy consumption during the in-service vehicles. Different research papers have highlighted that the manufacturing process is one of the most critical phases for the environmental impact of composite production. Currently, the primary process for producing epoxy composites (curing in an autoclave) is energy, time-consuming, and hardly tunable. Moreover, it often causes, during the curing cycle, gradients of temperatures in the components that may lead to the generation of microcracks or stress concentration. In light of these premises, the present research aims to present an energy-saving and highly tunable alternative process realized through electro-curing. The fluid epoxy resin is filled with carbonaceous electrically conductive nanofillers (multi-wall carbon nanotubes) to obtain a conductive mixture to be electrically cured via the Joule effect, obtaining a final product with a curing degree higher than the samples cured in an oven and requiring less than 10% of the energy compared to the autoclave process. Using the electro-curing process, the necessary energy for curing the samples is directly generated inside the resin via the Joule effect. Moreover, the electro-curing is highly and rapidly tunable since the energy generated in the sample is strictly related to the applied voltage and, so, the applied power. In the present research paper, a multi-step electro-curing process has been pursued and compared to samples cured in an oven. These results make electro-curing a promising method for producing thermosetting composites due to the substantial reduction of the environmental impact.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
