Cyanate ester resins are a family of high-temperature thermosetting resins that bridge the gap in thermal performance between engineering epoxy and high-temperature polyimides. This article discusses the chemistry, properties and characteristics of the cyanate ester resins. It describes the processing procedures for the cyanate ester resins and provides information on properties for selected applications, such as space applications, radomes, and printed circuit boards.

A thermosetting resin, or thermoset, is a synthetic organic polymer that cures to a solid, infusible mass by forming a three-dimensional network of covalent chemical bonds. Significant applications include construction and thermoset engineering plastics. This article discusses the general and family characteristics of thermosetting resin families, including allyls, aminos (urea formaldehyde and melamine formaldehyde), cyanates, epoxies, polybenzimidazoles, unsaturated polyesters, thermoset polyimides, phenolics, and vinyl esters. It also explains processing methods, including curing and curing agents. The article provides descriptions of commercial product forms and the wide array of applications of thermosetting resins. It also tabulates the performance properties (mechanical, thermal, electrical and chemical resistance) of some families of unfilled or unreinforced thermosetting resins and reinforced or filled grades.

This article provides a summary of the concepts discussed in the articles under the Section “Constituent Materials” in ASM Handbook, Volume 21: Composites. The Section describes the major matrix resins and reinforcing fibers used in composite materials, as well as some of the intermediate material forms available for composite fabrication.

This article discusses composites for unmanned space vehicles and provides an overview of key design drivers, challenges, and environment for use of composites in spacecraft, launch vehicles, and missiles. It describes the design allowable properties of composite materials. The article provides information on the specific state-of-the-art applications of composite materials for spacecraft missiles and launch vehicles. A discussion on the key applications, including solid rocket motor casings, payload fairings, and payload support structures, is presented.

This article describes common design criteria and identifies the design considerations that have a significant effect on the end product. The design criteria include cost, size, mechanical properties, repeatability and precision of parts, damage tolerance and durability, and environmental constraints.

Composite tooling is the making of tools from composite materials. This article focuses on wet lay-up methods and techniques that are used to fabricate prepreg tooling. It discusses the advantages and disadvantages of composite tools. The article describes the process considerations for composite tool design, such as master model or pattern design selection, fiber and fabric selection, resins, and surface coat and ply. Various tool laminate construction techniques, such as curing and demolding, and cutting and trimming, are reviewed. The article also describes the substructure design for the construction of tool laminates.

This article focuses on epoxy because this resin category has widespread use and because it is tested using quality control measures typical of most resin systems. It explains that a typical resin system will consist of one or more epoxy resins, a curing agent, and a catalyst to control the rate of reaction. The article describes the component material tests, mixed resin system tests, and prepreg tests for the resin system. These tests include high-performance liquid chromatography, infrared spectroscopy, and gel permeation chromatography. The article contains a table that lists typical resin and prepreg property tests.

This article describes the most significant tests to characterize the properties of constituent materials. It discusses the chemical, physical, and mechanical tests for determining the properties of reinforcement fibers and fabrics. The article provides information on some of the basic materials used for thermoset and thermoplastic resin matrices. It reviews the identification of the individual characteristics of thermoset and thermoplastic resin along with the test methods normally used for their determination. The article contains a table that lists properties and tests for uncured and cured thermoset-matrix resins and prepregs.

This article discusses the types, properties, and uses of continuous-fiber-reinforced composites, including glass, carbon, aramid, boron, continuous silicon carbide, and aluminum oxide fiber composites. While polyester and vinyl ester resins are the most used matrix materials for commercial applications, epoxy resins, bismaleimide resins, polyimide resins, and thermoplastic resins are used for aerospace applications. The article addresses design considerations as well as product forms and fabrication processes.

This article reviews the basic types of mold aggregates and bonding methods for expendable molds and coremaking. It provides an overview of mold media and the basic types of sands and their properties. The most significant clays used in green sand operations, such as bentonites, are discussed. The article describes the methods of sand bonding with inorganic compounds. It provides a description of resin-bonded sand systems: no-bake binder systems, heat-cured binder systems, and cold box binder systems. The article concludes with a discussion on the media used for expendable molds, namely, ceramic shells and rammed graphite, for casting reactive metals such as titanium or zirconium.

This article presents the basic guidelines considered in designing a composite structure, and the basic definitions of terms that apply to composites. It describes the analysis of a composite laminate based on stress-strain relationships, stress-strain load relationships, general load displacement case, and general load case solution. Factors affecting the composite materials properties and allowables of fiber-reinforced polymers are reviewed. The article discusses the process considerations for mold design, such as master model, metal tooling, composite tooling, and tool care. It explains the resin selection in designing the composite for use in a particular application. The article illustrates the various methods that are used to process a composite component, namely, wet lay-up, autoclave, resin transfer molding, and vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding. It provides a discussion on electromagnetic interference shielding, electrostatic discharge protection, metal plating, fire resistance, and corrosion resistance on composite materials.

This article illustrates the polymer matrices used for composite materials. It describes the use of prepeg materials in manufacturing high-performance composites. The article discusses the various infusion processes for the development of fiber-reinforced composites, namely, resin transfer molding, vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding, and resin film infusion. It explains the composite- and matrix-toughening methods for fiber-reinforced composites, such as dispersed-phase toughening and interlayer toughening. The article concludes with information on optical microscopy, which provides an insight into the micro- and macrostructure of fiber-reinforced composites.

This article describes the dispersed-phase toughening of thermoset matrices by the development of multiphase-structure thermosetting matrices using rubber and/or thermoplastic materials. It discusses two main methods for manufacturing prepregs, namely, single-pass impregnation and double-pass impregnation. The article illustrates reflected-light optical microscopy techniques to evaluate the morphology of thermoplastic materials for determining the material quality and correlating key microstructural features with material performance.

This article presents a comprehensive collection of the definition of terms related to metallurgy.

This article begins with a brief history of composite materials and discusses its characteristics. It presents an introduction to the constituents, product forms, and fabrication processes of composite materials. The article concludes with a discussion on the applications of organic-matrix, metal-matrix, and ceramic-matrix composites.

This article discusses the most common thermal analysis methods for thermosetting resins. These include differential scanning calorimetry, thermomechanical analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, and dynamic mechanical analysis. The article also discusses the characterization of uncured thermosetting resins as well as the curing process. Then, the techniques to characterize the physical properties of cured thermosets and composites are presented. Several examples of stress-strain curves are shown for thermosets and thermoplastic polymers.

This article is a compilation of definitions for terms related to engineering materials, including plastics, elastomers, polymer-matrix composites, adhesives and sealants, ceramics, ceramic-matrix composites, glasses, and carbon-carbon composites.