Date of Award

Fall 12-16-2017

Semester of Degree

December

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D. in Paper and Bioprocess Engineering

Department

Paper & Bioprocess Engineering

CO-MP

Robert Meyer

CO-MP

Mark Driscoll

Steering Committee Member

Leonard A Smith

Steering Committee Member

Scott Larson

Steering Committee Member

George H Kyanka

Steering Committee Member

Christopher Nowak

Abstract

Visible light curing technology was used to fabricate fiber-reinforced polymer composites. This project started with designing and constructing a visible light curing unit – a multi-LED array and investigating its optical characteristics. Visible light curable formulations were developed and studied using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to optimize curing efficiency as well as to validate the feasibility of curing through a thick laminate. A third study was conducted to develop test methods and evaluate the impact resistance of visible light cured fiber-reinforced 1/2-inch-thick ballistic panels and 1/4-inch and 1/8-inch-thick storm panels. The results showed a great success in using visible light to cure thick laminated composites. In addition, the visible light cured composites have demonstrated comparable impact strength with commercial ballistic panels.

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