Abstract
In order to synthesize a new kind of buoyancy material with high-strength, low-density and low-water-absorption and to study the curing reaction of tetraglycidylamine epoxy resin with an aromatic amine curing agent, the non-isothermal differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) method is used to calculate the curing kinetics parameters of N,N,N′,N′-tetraepoxypropyl-4,4′-diaminodiphenylmethane epoxy resin (AG-80) and the m-xylylenediamine (m-XDA) curing process. Further, buoyancy materials with different volume fractions of hollow glass microsphere (HGM) compounded with a AG-80 epoxy resin matrix were prepared and characterized. The curing kinetics calculation results show that, for the curing reaction of the AG-80/m-XDA system, the apparent activation energy increases with the conversion rates increasing and the reaction model is the Jander equation (three-dimensional diffusion, 3D, n = 1/2). The experimental results show that the density, compressive strength, saturated water absorption and water absorption rate of the composite with 55 v % HGM are 0.668 g·cm−3, 107.07 MPa, 0.17% and 0.025 h−1/2, respectively. This kind of composite can probably be used as a deep-sea buoyancy material.
Highlights
In recent years, the resources in land and shallow water have not been able to meet the needs of production and life
A new buoyancy material with high-strength and low-density was prepared by the composition of m-XDA cured AG-80 epoxy resin and hollow glass microspheres (HGM)
The apparent activation energy decreases with the increasing of the conversion degree of AG-80/m-XDA system and the reaction model is the Jander equation
Summary
The resources in land and shallow water have not been able to meet the needs of production and life. These are extremely rich resources, including oil, gas, and minerals, which are stored in deep-sea. Deep-sea resource exploitation has become a global trend [1–3] that cannot function without the support of equipment such as deep submersibles. Submersibles generally adopt unpowered floating technology, so buoyancy materials with high-strength and low-density are required to provide part of the net buoyancy [4,5]. The float and sink of submersibles are controlled by the unload and load of buoyancy materials. Considering the working environment of buoyancy materials, high pressure resistance, low density, and low water absorption [6–8] are obtained. Buoyancy material is lightweight porous composite material that is prepared by hollow glass microspheres (HGM) as filler that is physically mixed in a polymeric resin matrix [9,10]
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