Fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) are increasingly being used in structural applications due to their excellent mechanical properties. EPX 82, a hybrid dual-cure epoxy resin system that combines the benefits of fast UV curability and high mechanical adhesion performance and develops these traits through its co-curing process.
Better design and dimensioning methods are needed for these novel multi-scale composite structures.
This research project aims to continue research related to the curing kinetics and the deformation behavior of the EPX82 under compression loading and high temperatures. It'll also ultimately help to determine if the manufacturing process, while still utilizing the benefits of the applied AM process, of high quality EPX82 - FRP hybrid parts is technically feasible as well as economically possible.
Processing Test Fixture
The key aspects that affect the EPX82 material processing window are the pressure, temperature, strain and time.

To manipulate these variables, I designed a test fixture that could alter the strain values was designed and manufactured.

The fixture contains four load control components that will allow for a defined and adjustable load to be applied to the manufactured specimen. By varying the load on the specimen, the relaxation and the correlated piston extension and shrinkage can be measured and thus determine the softening of macro scale EPX82 components.

Hybrid Test Fixtures
To assess the mechanical properties of Hybrid EPX82 FRP specimens and prototypes, I designed and fabricated a hybrid test fixture. It's designed for three-point bend and pull-out tests on EPX82 and previous lattice sandwich structures.
This fixture, composed of various components including bottom and truss structure plates, aimed to ensure secure testing conditions. Adjustability was integrated into the truss structure test rig, facilitated by M5 threaded holes.

The three-point bend test was conducted using a loading pin attached to a manual wedge action grip of a tensile test machine.

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