Abstract

Product quality in composite processing will be improved by dependable methods for monitoring the process. In this paper, the feasibility of using near-infrared attenuated total reflection (NIR ATR) spectroscopy as a sensor for monitoring epoxy resin cure is demonstrated. An ATR crystal serves as a contact sensor, which has several potential advantages over embedded optic fiber techniques previously reported. NIR ATR spectra obtained from several epoxy/amine systems show that both primary amine and epoxy functional groups have well-isolated absorption peaks in the near-infrared region. The utility of NIR ATR spectroscopy for <i>in situ</i> cure monitoring is demonstrated by following the reaction between phenyl glycidyl ether and butylamine at ambient temperature.

Contactless optoelectronic technique for monitoring epoxy cure

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Attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy with chirped-pulse upconversion

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