March Chapter Meeting

Date:  Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Time:  6:00 P.M.
Location:  AERO Institute
38256 Sierra Hwy
Palmdale, CA 93550

Catered Dinner
$15.00 Per Person
Every dinner includes; meat dish, vegetarian casserole, dessert, coffee, tea water and soda.

XCOR Lynx, a suborbital space vehicle made of cyanate ester composites

SPEAKER: Dr. Andrew Guenthner, Aerospace Systems Directorate (Propellants), Air Force Research Laboratory
Andrew received a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Case Western Reserve University in 1995 followed by a Ph. D. in polymer engineering from The University of Akron in 2000.  After graduating, Dr. Guenthner spent nine years at the Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division in China Lake, CA, then joined the Air Force Research Laboratory at Edwards AFB, CA, where he currently works in the Propellants branch.  Dr. Guenthner’s current research interests include high-performance thermosetting polymer resins for air and space propulsion systems, self-assembled and multi-functional polymer systems, and polymer surfaces and interfaces.

Abstract:  BIO-BASED CYANATE ESTER RESINS:  Improved performance through network structure enhancement.

Cyanate ester monomers and their corresponding cyanurate networks derived from renewable and sustainable resources have exhibited a remarkable range of performance characteristics.  These characteristics range from monomers with melting points below room temperature and with low moisture uptake and performance comparable to the best epoxy resins to networks with thermal resistance similar to the best available thermosetting resins of any type.  The wide range of performance enables structure-property relationships for thermosetting networks to be utilized to tailor and enhance the properties of these new systems.  For instance, oxidation, cyclotrimerization and subsequent functionalization of the renewable essential oil anethole enables the production of trifunctional monomers that, when cured into a macromolecular network, provide superior thermal performance compared to networks generated from bifunctional anethole derived monomers.  For improved toughness, interpenetrating and/or graft co-networks can be formed by mixing highly compatible blends of polycarbonate thermoplastics and cyanate ester monomer derived from the same bio-based phenolic precursor, as illustrated with bifunctional eugenol derivatives.  These enhancements facilitate the creation of products from renewable and/or sustainable sources that can meet the full range of application requirements typically associated with cyanate ester resins.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to limited space please RSVP NOW to Dr. Roger Fountain or Ashok Shah:
Dr. Roger Fountain:  Roger.Fountain@lmco.com  phone:   661-572-2832