SBIR Phase II: Novel Fire-Resistant Toughened Benzoxazines

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目旨在开发和展示基于新型苯并恶嗪树脂化学的阻燃聚合物复合材料。在第一阶段项目中，合成了低粘度苯并恶嗪树脂，并制备了复合材料配方，这些配方显示出适用于复合材料制造的加工特性，以及良好的机械强度和阻燃性。 这些成功是通过聚合物合成技术的发展实现的，并通过连续纤维增强复合材料的后续制造和测试进行了验证。 例如，第一阶段的结果表明，这些新的聚合物配方提供了显着降低的加工温度，这简化了复合材料制造工艺，降低了模具成本。 此外，使用这些材料生产的纤维增强复合材料与使用合成态（即，不增韧）材料。这一发现是重要的，并表明，复合材料的强度与环氧基系统，但具有上级阻燃性，可以实现与这些新材料。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力最初将在电子和航空航天市场。阻燃聚合物和复合材料在这两个行业中正成为越来越重要的系统。在每种情况下，使用耐火材料都能增强公共安全，同时也能提高使用耐火材料的系统的整体性能。高强度阻燃材料的价值在民用航空工业中也许最为明显。 在这种情况下，向复合材料的过渡提供了显著的重量减轻，重量减轻占最近飞机燃油效率提高的很大比例，同时还增强了飞机结构的阻燃性。 此外，预计未来10年，先进材料在电子应用中的使用将稳步增加，苯并恶嗪树脂的进一步开发和商业化将为该技术的用户提供消防安全和系统级性能的增强。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project seeks to develop and demonstrate flame-resistant, polymer-composite materials based on novel benzoxazine resin chemistries. In the Phase I project, low-viscosity benzoxazine resins were synthesized and composite formulations prepared that exhibit suitable processing characteristics for use in composite manufacture, as well as good mechanical strength and flame resistance. These successes were achieved through the development of polymer synthesis techniques, and validated by the subsequent fabrication and testing of continuous fiber-reinforced composites. For example, the Phase I results showed that these new polymer formulations offer significantly reduced processing temperatures, which simplifies composite manufacturing processes and reduces tooling costs. In addition, the fiber-reinforced composites produced using these materials exhibited 15-20% higher tensile strengths and 50% higher toughness values as compared to composites fabricated using the as-synthesized (i.e., not toughened) material. This finding is important and shows that composites with strengths comparable to those of epoxy-based systems, but with superior flame resistance, can be achieved with these new materials. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will initially be in the electronics and aerospace markets. Flame-resistant polymers and composites are becoming increasingly important systems in both of these industries. In each case, the use of fire-resistant materials offers enhanced public safety, while also improving the overall performance of the systems in which they are used. The value of high-strength flame-resistant materials is perhaps most evident in the civil aviation industry. In this instance, the transition to composite materials offers a significant weight savings, with reductions in weight accounting for a large percentage of recent improvements in aircraft fuel efficiency, while also enhancing the flame resistance of aircraft structures. In addition, the use of advanced materials is expected to increase steadily in electronics applications over the next 10 years, and the further development and commercialization of benzoxazine resins will provide the users of this technology with enhancements in both fire safety and system-level performance.