| Epoxy resins are thermosets with extraordinary adhesion; high strength; good resistance to creep, heat, and chemicals; and they have low shrinkage. Conversely, these polymers are brittle, they are sensitive to moisture, and they exhibit poor toughness. To improve their toughness, they are often modified by introducing dispersed rubber particles in the primary phase.; In this study, the epoxy resin was modified with carboxyl-terminated butadiene acrylonitrile (CTBN), liquid-reactive rubbers. The initiator concentration, percent acrylonitrile in the CTBN rubber, and cure temperatures were altered to give varying materials properties. Statistical analysis of the morphology data showed that the percentage of rubber acrylonitrile had an effect on both the rubber particle size and volume fraction. The cure temperature had an effect on the rubber particle volume and modulus. Plots of the rubber particle size, volume fraction, and modulus versus bulk elastic storage modulus and fracture toughness revealed that rubber particle size had no effect on bulk properties, volume fraction and rubber particle modulus had an effect on both the bulk storage elastic modulus and fracture toughness. |
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