Epoxy resin composition, fiber-reinforced composite material, and method for producing the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016159993-A1
Application number	US-201615017575-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Feb 5, 2016
Priority date	Mar 25, 2008
Publication date	Jun 9, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Disclosed herein are an epoxy resin composition for fiber-reinforced composite materials which has low viscosity, high Tg, high elastic modulus, and excellent fracture toughness and a fiber-reinforced composite material using such an epoxy resin composition which has excellent thermal properties, compressive strength, impact resistance, fatigue resistance, and open-hole tensile strength and which is suitable for producing structural parts of aircraft and the like. The epoxy resin composition comprises at least a given bifunctional epoxy resin as a component (A), a liquid aromatic diamine curing agent as a component (B), and core-shell polymer particles as a component (C), wherein the core-shell polymer particles as the component (C) contain epoxy groups in their shell and have a volume-average particle size of 50 to 300 nm.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method for producing a fiber-reinforced composite material, comprising:
placing a fiber substrate composed of reinforcing fibers on a substrate; impregnating the fiber substrate with an epoxy resin composition; and thermally curing the epoxy resin composition; wherein the epoxy resin composition comprises at least the following components (A), (B), and (C); wherein: (A) comprises at least one bifunctional epoxy resin represented by any one of the following formulas (I), (II), and (III):

wherein R 1 to R 17 are each independently a substituent selected from among hydrogen, halogens, and C 1 to C 4 alkyl groups;
(B) comprises a liquid aromatic diamine curing agent; and
(C) comprises core-shell polymer particles, wherein the core-shell polymer particles as the component (C) contain epoxy groups in their shell and have a volume-average particle size of 50 to 300 nm.

2 . A method for producing a fiber-reinforced composite material according to claim 1 ; wherein the reinforcing fibers comprise carbon fibers.

3 . A method for producing a fiber-reinforced composite material according to claim 1 , wherein the method comprises: placing, in an inside of a mold, a non-crimp fabric comprising warps each of which is composed of one or more strands of carbon fibers, auxiliary warps each of which is a glass fiber bundle or a chemical fiber bundle and which are arranged in parallel with the warps, and wefts each of which is composed of one or more glass fibers or chemical fibers and which are arranged perpendicularly to the warps and the auxiliary warps and interlaced with the auxiliary warps to integrally hold the carbon fiber strands; impregnating the non-crimp fabric with an epoxy resin composition; and thermally curing the epoxy resin composition.

4 . A method for producing a fiber-reinforced composite material according claim 3 ; wherein the impregnating the non-crimp fabric with the epoxy resin composition is done by evacuating the inside of the mold.

5 . A method for producing a fiber-reinforced composite material according to claim 1 , which contains the component (A) in an amount of 15 to 60 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of a total epoxy resin.

6 . A method for producing a fiber-reinforced composite material according to claim 1 , further comprising a tri- or higher-functional aromatic epoxy resin as a component (D) in an amount of 30 to 70 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the total epoxy resin.

7 . A method for producing a fiber-reinforced composite material according to claim 1 , wherein the component (B) is at least one represented by any one of the following formulas (IV) to (VI):

wherein R 18 to R 29 are each independently a substituent selected from among hydrogen, halogens, and C 1 to C 4 alkyl groups.

8 . A method for producing a fiber-reinforced composite material according to claim 7 , which contains 40 to 90 parts by mass of any one of liquid aromatic diamine curing agents represented by the formulas (IV) to (VI) or a mixture of two or more of them and 10 to 40 parts by mass of diaminodiphenylsulfone with respect to 100 parts by mass of a total amine curing agent.

9 . A method for producing a fiber-reinforced composite material according to claim 8 , wherein the diaminodiphenylsulfone is a mixture of 3,3′-diaminodiphenylsulfone and 4,4′-diaminodiphenylsulfone.

10 . A method for producing a fiber-reinforced composite material according to claim 1 , wherein a core of the component (C) is composed of a polymer obtained by polymerization of a monomer containing butadiene.

11 . A method for producing a fiber-reinforced composite material according to claim 1 , which contains the component (C) in an amount of 1 to 12 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the total epoxy resin.

12 . A method for producing a fiber-reinforced composite material according to claim 1 , wherein a cured product obtained by curing the epoxy resin composition at 180° C. for 2 hours has a glass transition temperature different from that of the core of the component (C) by 210° C. or more and a fracture toughness (G IC ) at −54° C. of 120 J/m 2 or higher.

13 . A method for producing a fiber-reinforced composite material according to claim 1 , wherein the component (B) is at least diethyltoluene-diamine.

Assignees

• Kamae Toshiya
• Kochi Shinji
• Miyoshi Masayuki
• Yoshioka Kenichi
• Toray Industries

Inventors

• Kamae Toshiya
• Kochi Shinji
• Miyoshi Masayuki
• Yoshioka Kenichi

Classifications

• C08J2463/02

  Polyglycidyl ethers of bis-phenols · CPC title

• C08J2363/00

  Characterised by the use of epoxy resins; Derivatives of epoxy resins · CPC title

• C08G59/5033

  aromatic · CPC title

• B29C70/06

  Fibrous reinforcements only · CPC title

• Y10T428/249922

  Embodying intertwined or helical component[s] · CPC title