Study of the relations between the dissipation factor and the acceptance test properties of a cast epoxy material

It was demonstrated that the room-temperature dissipation factor at 1000 cps correlated with the room-temperature tensile strength of a cast epoxy material for wide variations in the cure cycle and the formulation, and that the correlation was significant below the 1% level. Thus, tan δ measurements appear to he a promising means for monitoring the tensile strength of the material. Tan δ measurements also appear to be promising for monitoring the ablation weight loss of the material. Barcol hardness and specific gravity were shown to be poor indicators of variations within the material. It was felt that tan δ measurements could possibly be used in place of the heat distortion test. It is recommended that the use of electrical measurements be considered in similar applications involving other materials.