Rheology of nanoparticulate epoxy suspensions

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Disperse properties of particles like primary and secondary particle size, particle size distribution, aggregate structure, particle morphology and surface functionalization have significant effect on the processing and application of fiber-reinforced nanocomposites. Up to this time, only vague models exist for the description of these interdependencies. The fundamental question which needs to be answered is how disperse properties affect the structures formed along the process chain and the corresponding consequences on desired product properties. During the first funding period of this project, the influence of some factors was already characterized and the foundation was laid for the simulative access of the hypothesized working principles via coupled CFD-DEM-simulations. Throughout the second funding period, these results shall be used and refined to serve as parameters for a predictive analytical model for the describing the rheological properties. Besides particle properties, reaction kinetics is of major importance in the field of fiber-reinforced composites. The reaction kinetic itself is influenced by numerous parameters which shall be modelled after an extended experimental characterization. In addition, the validity of the mechanistic stress model shall be assessed further in order to gain in-depth understanding of the dispersing mechanisms in laminar shear flow.