Sensitivity of material data for simulation of the exothermal curing process for epoxy-resin impregnated coils

Abstract

This paper discusses the influence of material data as well as kinetic parameters on the results of finite element analysis (FEA) simulation of epoxy curing processes. Variations in thermal conductivity significantly influence the calculation of exothermic peaks. Therefore, thermal conductivity values must be determined in the liquid and in the solid state by special experiments. The most influential parameter, however, is the activation energy for the curing reaction. Small variations of 5% already result in calculation errors by a factor of 2. Since measurement errors are in that order, precise determination of the activation energy might be the greatest challenge for simulating the epoxy curing reaction via FEA tools.