Effect of Trimethoxy(vinyl)silane on gel time and mechanical properties of polyester resin

In this study, effect of trimethoxy(vinyl) silane on gel time, hardness and tensile strength of polyester resin was evaluated. 2.5 wt. % silane agent was added into pure poly ester resin as chemical modifier. Rheometric mechanical spectrometer (RMS) was used to calculate gel time and storage modulus of modified and blank resin with time during of curing process. Tensile machine was employed to determine tensile strength of modified resin. Also, pure resin was used as reference for comparison. The hardness values of resin were determined by using Rockwell hardness tester. The results showed adding silane agent can increase gel time of pure resin. In addition, tensile strength of modified resin increased about 32 % compared with the pure resin because of participation of silane agent in 3D network of cured resin due to unsaturated bonds in silane structure. Also, modified resin had an 8-unit increase in the hardness values.