Development of Bismaleimide/Cyanate Ester Based Aerospace Polymers for Possible Use in NASA's Relaunchable Vehicles Program

Since the beginning of the space age, the goal of materials development in the aerospace industry has been to replace metal alloys with much lighter polymer resins, while maintaining the strength over a wide temperature range characteristic of metals. Polymers such as polyimides and epoxies have been used to satisfy many needs, but strength, temperature resistance, and ease of processing are difficult to incorporate into a single polymer. Because of this gap, bismaleimides and cyanate esters, and possibly combinations of the two, are seen as having potential in applications where ease of processing characteristic of epoxies is desired, but for which temperature resilience better than that of epoxies is desired. In this project, bismaleimide and cyanate ester compositions based on commercially available monomers are created and evaluated to determine what monomers and compatibilization methods are favorable. Additionally, curing behavior is studied to explain these phenomena.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Department of Chemistry

Year

2000

Author dc:creator

• Sisk, Brian

• Chemistry

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/702

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.wku.edu:theses-1705