ORCID
- Summerscales, John: 0000-0002-3557-0404
Abstract
Surface coatings (gel-coats) are often used on commercial composite mouldings for cosmetic and/or durability reasons. They have traditionally been prepared in open moulds with styrene vapour allowed to escape to the workspace and environment. This paper considers the development of in-mould gel-coating processes. A Double Glass Plate Mould (DGPM) was used to prepare flat composite test panels. Laminates were manufactured by liquid composite moulding processes. Conventional hand painted gel-coat, innovative In-Mould Gel-Coating with a trilayer separator fabric (IMGC) or In-Mould Surfacing with a silicone shim (IMS) were studied. The surface quality of the final products was measured using a Wave-Scan device while the adhesion of the gel-coat was characterised by pull-off tests. The new processes offer reasonable properties in a cleaner, more controlled process.
DOI
10.1016/j.compositesa.2016.10.014
Publication Date
2016-12-01
Publication Title
Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing
Volume
91
Issue
1
ISSN
1359-835X
Embargo Period
2017-10-11
Organisational Unit
School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics
Keywords
Polymer-matrix composites (PMCs), Adhesion, Surface analysis
First Page
203
Last Page
210
Recommended Citation
Gombos, Z. J., & Summerscales, J. (2016) 'In-Mould Gel-Coating for polymer composites', Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 91(1), pp. 203-210. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2016.10.014
