Reuse of cured epoxy as a reinforcement in an epoxy composite

Abstract

This article discusses the reuse of a thermoset-based epoxy polymer. In this method, cured epoxy polymer is ground to powder of particle size ranging from 1 to 30 μm. The ground epoxy is then filled in an epoxy polymer to form an epoxy–epoxy composite system using both room and high temperature processing. The amount of filler material was varied from 1 to 10 wt% in the epoxy matrix. Rheology and tensile properties test were then performed. The result shows that the room temperature-processed epoxy composites (above 5 wt% of powders) resulted in the formation of voids, agglomeration of particles, and reduced degree of cure leading to a decrease in tensile properties. These drawbacks (voids, agglomeration, and low degree of cure) were correspondingly absent in composites processed at high temperature. Results from this work suggest that the thermoset polymer can be reused effectively with minimal changes to the unfilled resin properties. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2013. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers