Frontal polymerization encompasses a class of self-propagating, exothermic curing methods in which a localized reaction front traverses a resin matrix, converting monomer to polymer without sustained ...

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have improved the technique of frontal polymerization, where a small amount of heat triggers a moving reaction wave that produces a ...

A self-propagating chemical reaction can transform a liquid monomer into a solid polymer, and the interaction between the propagating front and the reaction's natural convection leads to patterns in ...

Airplane wings and wind turbine blades are typically created using bulk polymerization in composite manufacturing facilities. They are heated and cured in enormous autoclaves and heated molds as big ...

Researchers have found a way to create industrially important thermoset polymer and fiber-reinforced polymer composite products at considerably lower expense than has been possible before. The ...

Aerospace undergrad Alex Kuehnle observes PhD student Ivan Wu in the composites laboratory at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Because it’s costly and cumbersome to transport large ...