Air entrapment in sheet molding compounds (SMC)

Abstract Entrapped air can commonly lead to large delaminations in thick walled sheet molding compound (SMC) products. In this work different sources of air entrapment in SMC are investigated. The critical process is shown to be the impregnation of the fibers. If no surface active additives are used, large volumes of air may be entrapped in this process, unless the viscosity of the compound is very low. In this situation of poor wetting, the viscosity of the compound during fiber impregnation will critically determine the interlaminar, tensile strength of the product. However, if surface active additives are used, the air escapes entrapment even at relatively high viscosities. The lowering of the viscosity, which is a side effect of the additives, has practically no importance under these conditions of good wetting. Large numbers of small air bubbles are also entrapped during the mixing of the components, but it is shown that these bubbles have very little effect on the mechanical properties of the finished part.