Synthesis of unsaturated polyester resins for large sized composites

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Abstract
A series of unsaturated polyesters based on phthalic anhydride (PHA), maleic anhydride (MA), ethylene glycol (EG), diethylene glycol (DG), triethylene glycol (TG), propylene glycol (PG), styrene (Sty) and acrylonitrile (AN) were prepared. The molecular weights of the prepared polyesters were determined by end‐group analysis. The effect of the structure of the resin on its curing behavior has been investigated. On the basis of the experimental study, the following were concluded: (1) The maximum curing temperature (Tmax) is related to the molecular weight of the glycol incorporated in these castings. In this context the Tmax was found to decrease with increasing the molecular weight. Meanwhile the time to peak temperature tmax was increasing. (2) The higher the percentage of AN in the crosslinking monomer system, the slower a resin cures. (3) The values of Tmax were found to be influenced to a large extent by the percentage of AN.