Lifetime assessment of epoxies by the kinetics of thermal degradation

The kinetics of thermal degradation of 4,4′‐diaminodiphenylsulfone (DDS)‐cured glycidylethers (DGBA) and glycidylamines (TGDDM) have been studied by isothermal annealing. Thermal degradation proceeds via first‐order kinetics with activation energies of 138 (DGBA/DDS) and 95 kJ/mol (TGDDM/DDS). From these data the temperature‐dependent lifetime can be calculated. Based on the heat distortion temperature and 20 years' service as criteria, the upper service temperature is found to be around 115–120°C. In spite of the different activation energies and bond stabilities, only marginal differences in the upper allowed service temperatures between these resins were found. Only slight improvements can be expected by optimizing the cure conditions.