PROCESSING OF POLYURETHANE POLYESTER INTERPENETRATING POLYMER NETWORK (IPN)

The kinetics and heat transfer during the curing of a polyurethane-polyester interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) were investigated experimentally and theoretically. A model based on the addivity rule of constituent ingredients was used to predict the IPNs reaction kinetics and heat transfer. Compared with the adiabatic temperature rise measured during reaction injection molding and the temperature profiles measured during a casting process, the model prediction is close to the experimental data. Deviations of model prediction from experimental results were found in the comparison of reaction rate profiles measured by differential scanning calorimetry. This suggests that reaction interactions may exist in the polymerization system.