Co-authors​ :

 Alexander YARI (AUSTRIA), Fatemeh MOKHTARI (AUSTRALIA), Russell VARLEY , Jane ZHANG , Claudia CREIGHTON (AUSTRALIA) 

The storage and transport of prepregs pose significant challenges due to their high sensitivity to environmental conditions, especially temperature. Maintaining the appropriate temperature is crucial to ensure the integrity and performance of prepregs in their intended applications. While various methods exist for long-term storage of prepregs, the primary approach involves storing them at low temperatures, which requires sub-zero temperatures and energy consumption during storage. Additionally, this approach presents logistical difficulties and limitations. To address these challenges, we propose a novel method for prepreg production that could revolutionize the storage and transport of these materials. We propose an alternative approach where the epoxy and amine components are kept separate during the prepreg manufacturing process. Instead of mixing the epoxy and amine, we impregnate separate sheets of epoxy and amine and then stack them on top of each other to create the prepreg. Separating epoxy and amine layers or A & B prepregs offer several benefits in terms of ease of storage, elimination of the need for a preparation process, and transportation. This approach could commonly be used in the manufacturing of composite materials, where epoxy resin and amine hardener are combined to form a prepreg, which is then used for various applications such as maintenance and repair purposes, construction industry, and marine applications. In order to better understand how we can apply epoxy and amine to each sheet without normal mixing, we need a method to determine the proper ratio and time required for the composite to become tough and reliable in terms of thermal and mechanical properties. Additionally, we are seeking an optimal modified ratio of epoxy to amine that will result in the best product in the shortest amount of time. We have tested this method with (DGEBA)BisA-Bisphenol-A diglycidyl as an epoxy and (Methylamine) or 1,3-Cyclohexanebis as an amine. We tested thermal properties of cured composite in standard condition and suggested amine ratio compare with A & B prepregs with different ratios of amine at a low temperature of cure at 60C. The main reason of using a low temperature instead of suggested high temperature is to simulate the non-standard conditions and low temperature situation at construction and marine sites, that in reality the prepregs aim to use. Based on our test results for DMA and DSC our developed A and B prepregs can meet up to 79% of standard prepregs thermal characteristics. This means that despite all the non-standard conditions of fabricating and curing our prepregs at low temperatures, especially for maintenance purposes, the thermal property (Tg) of the final product is only 21% less than the standard product. This novel method can resolve all the difficulties of the production process and transport challenges, and it is also cost-effective because it does not require sub-zero storage or any special packaging.