A fiber optic thermoset cure monitoring sensor

Abstract Curing determines the chemical and physical properties of a reacting resin. Among these, the optical properties strongly correlate with the structural features of the developing polymeric network. By monitoring changes of the refractive index, it is possible to analyze the polymerization of thermoset resin. In this work, a fiber optic sensor system has been designed and developed (based on the optical time domain reflectometry principle) to measure the reflection coefficient at the interface between the fiber optic and the resin during a curing process. Correlation between the sensor output and conversion has been proposed, following the Lorentz‐Lorenz law. Isothermal data from the sensor have been compared with calorimetric analysis of an epoxy‐based resin.