Thermal Expansion Characteristics of Some Plastic Materials and Composites from Room Temperature to -253°C

Abstract

In order to predict the expansion characteristics of filled plastics, the system must be analyzed to the extent that the resultant expansion characteristics and elastic moduli of all chemical combinations are known or predicted, and the problem is reduced to determining the result of the various expansion forces as they interact. With the formation of unknown compounds in unknown quantities as the components are mixed and cured, the uncertainty of the effectiveness of adhesive bonds and the complex geometry of mechanical interactions, the analysis is extremely difficult, if not impossible. Experimental data are needed, therefore, not only to evaluate specific composites but also to aid in the understanding of the factors which affect the expansions of these materials.

This work was sponsored by the Research and Technology Division, Air Force Systems Command under Air Force Contract AF33(657)-9160.