Experiment § Low-temperature curing filament winding resin
Composite material winding process (Figure 1): The fiber is impregnated with resin in the impregnation tank; through the movement of the guide ring and the rotation of the mandrel, the position of the fiber on the mandrel is controlled, and finally cured and molded. Figure 2 is a gas cylinder wound by using a preform made of aluminum as a mandrel. Epoxy resin is used in the filament winding has two curing agent systems. One is amine curing agent system. Its room temperature stability is relatively poor, but it has advantage of low temperature curing, so it is suitable for making small gas cylinders; The other is anhydride curing agent system, which has high viscosity stability at room temperature, but most of them need to be heated to above 120 ℃ to be fully cured, so it's suitable for large gas cylinder. In anhydride system, usually uses tertiary amine as the catalyst. However, to achieve a viscosity stability of more than 4 to 8 hours and can cure completely at low temperature, the use of this type of catalyst is limited. Everwide has recently developed a catalyst allowing resin to have Tg more than 100°C after 100°C/4 hours (Figure 3). Without post-curing at higher temperatures, a very high reaction rate can be achieved, which can reduce production costs and energy consumption.
─Author: Chih-Hsien, Chen
Activity § Electrical laboratory
In order to expand electrical industry market, the establishment of electrical laboratory is our goal this year. Last year, we conducted a series of purchase negotiations, overall planning of placement areas, details confirmation, risk assessment, etc. The grounding line was buried in May this year (Figure 1). The instruments entered the factory at the beginning of July (Figure 2). With the assistance of equipment suppliers, our hardware equipment was about to be installed (Figure 3), and instrument introduction and application teaching was also held (Figure 4). The electrical properties of polymer materials, including destruction voltage of AC and DC, arc characteristics, surface resistance, volume resistance, dielectric constant, relative tracking index, etc., are all relatively new fields, especially the relationship between certain parameters and temperature, voltage and time. We hope to share the new knowledge we discovered with you so that everyone can make progress together.
Knowledge § Are there inhibitors for epoxy resins?
When both epoxy resin and curing agent are homogeneous, a chemical reaction occurs. For example, if epoxy resin and amine curing agent are mixed together, chemical reaction proceeds. When reaction speed is not fast enough, you can add an accelerator to reduce activation energy of reaction and make reaction speed faster. Certain chemicals can affect catalytic mechanism and slow the reaction between epoxy groups and amines, but the reaction mechanism has not been changed. For example, in a system using phenols to catalyze epoxy resins and amine curing agents, the addition of ketones and esters will slow down the reaction, but it will not stop it, so there is no inhibitor in epoxy resins.
Living § Why is your world different from mine?
I was on a business trip to China a while ago, and I wanted to find out the latest status of Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement, but China's search engine couldn't find relevant news. I had found one or two review articles, but all of them were downplayed, alluding to the influence of certain political forces that led to riots on the island. Interestingly, many Chinese friends think so. At the same time, different media in Taiwan often have very different interpretations of same incident. The information is so different that some diehard supporters are only willing to immerse themselves in the media messages they believe. There is a philosophical theory that facts are all constructed, and your thoughts determine your truth: the media provides us with information, and information constructs the facts we recognize. For example, compared with viewers who always watch FOX TV to understand Trump's policies, those who have received messages from other TV stations will have different facts. There are various media with different positions, which symbolizes precious speech and press freedom. However, if a media with a clear stand tries to take readers or listeners to the extreme, it is the beginning of tearing the group. Today's media types are complex and various commercial political forces are deeply involved. In a world full of truth, falseness, and information packed with benefits, we must cultivate our own way of interpreting information.
─Author: Wen-Chao, Shih
