VTC401

Epoxy Component Prepreg

Introduction
VTC401 is an epoxy resin system designed to give an initial cure at low temperatures or snap cure at high
temperatures with enhanced toughness, honeycomb bondability and higher service temperature, giving
greater flexibility in component manufacture. It can be supplied on a variety of fabrics in UD format to meet
your cost and manufacturing requirements.
Typical applications: General purpose – Visual

Key Features & Benefits

 Cure temperature from 65°C to 120°C
 Service temperature up to 135°C after post cure
Low CTE and shrinkage
 Work life at 20°C: 21 days
 Storage life at -18°C: 12 months
 Very low VOC content – no added solvents during manufacture
 Snap cure available for hot press moulding – consult SHD for details

Storage & Out Life

This material should be kept frozen at -18°C. It must be kept sealed in a polythene bag which must not be
opened until fully thawed to room temperature. If the material is not fully used, then the material must be
resealed in the polythene bag to prevent moisture absorption.

Issued 12th October 2016

Note: The information and assistance provided herein is for your consideration without legal responsibility. Users are required to perform verification and
testing to confirm that the product meets with their requirements.
Mechanical Properties
Tests performed on VTC401-C200T-T300-2X2T-3K-42%RW laminates

Test Results Standard

Compression Compressive strength 631 MPa BS EN ISO 14126 : 1999
Tension Tensile strength 573 MPa BS EN ISO 527-4 : 1997
Tensile modulus 52.7 GPa
Flexure Flexural strength 863 MPa BS EN ISO 14125 : 1998
Flexural modulus 51.7 GPa
Strain to failure 1.7 %
Interlaminar Shear Strength Interlaminar shear strength 74.0 MPa BS EN 2563 : 1997
DMA Tg – Storage Modulus Onset 143 °C AITM 1-0003 Issue 3
Tg – Tan δ Peak 151 °C
Complete test results tables on pages 4 to 6.

Cure Cycles & performances

Cure Initial Min Cure Tg

65°C (minimum) 16 hours 70°C

80°C 8 hours 85°C
100°C 1 hour 105°C
120°C (maximum) 45 minutes 125°C
135°C Post-cure 2 hours 140°C

Curing Schedule is meant to be a guide only and is subject to local conditions.

 To avoid exotherm particular care must be taken with thick laminates.
Ramp rates must not exceed 3.0°C per minute during initial cure.
Ramp rates must not exceed 0.3°C per minute during post cure (free standing).

Volatile content < 1.0%

Fibre volume fraction 50 to 60%
Voidage (autoclave cure) < 1.0%

Issued 12th October 2016

Note: The information and assistance provided herein is for your consideration without legal responsibility. Users are required to perform verification and
testing to confirm that the product meets with their requirements.
Viscosity Profile
Testing carried out at 23±2°C, 50±5% RH. Ramp rate: 2°C/min.

10000000
VTC401 Viscosity Profile
1000000

100000

10000
Pa.s

1000

100

10

1
20 40 60 80 100 120 140
°C

Health and Safety

This material contains epoxy resin which can cause allergic reactions with skin contact and must avoid
repeated and prolonged skin contact.
Please refer to the product Safety Data Sheet before using this material. The following precautions must be
taken when using epoxy resin prepregs:

 Overalls must be worn.

 Impervious gloves must be worn.
 Curing schedule is meant to be as a guide only and is subject to local conditions.
 To avoid exotherm, particular care must be taken with thick laminates.
 Ramp rates must not exceed 3.0°C/min during initial cure and 0.3°C/min during post cure.

Castro Composite cannot accept any liability for injury or damage where the above precautions have not been taken or where the material is used for any
purpose other than its intended use.

Issued 12th October 2016

Note: The information and assistance provided herein is for your consideration without legal responsibility. Users are required to perform verification and
testing to confirm that the product meets with their requirements.
Complete test results tables
Mechanical testing carried out at 23±2°C, 50±5% RH.
DMA Specimens were conditioned at 105°C for a week prior to testing.
- Test speed for compression: 1mm/min
- Test speed for tension: 2mm/min
- Test speed for flexure: 2mm/min
- Test speed for ILSS: 1mm/min
All mechanical tests were completed independently by UKAS approved organisations. All tests results
reported above can be supplied independently upon request.
All figures are actual test results and haven’t been normalised.

VTC401-C200-T300-2X2T-3K-42%RW
Compression – BS EN ISO 14126 : 1999
Sample Dimensions Max Load Compressive Strength

(mm) (kN) (MPa)

001: 0° Direction 1 9.91 x 1.88 11.9 637
002: 0° Direction 2 9.90 x 1.88 11.5 616
003: 0° Direction 3 9.92 x 1.87 11.9 641
Mean 11.8 631
Standard Deviation 0.23 13.4
% Co-Efficient of Variance 1.96 2.13
001 / 002: Complex, 003: Through Thickness Shear

Issued 12th October 2016

Note: The information and assistance provided herein is for your consideration without legal responsibility. Users are required to perform verification and
testing to confirm that the product meets with their requirements.
VTC401-C200-T300-2X2T-3K-42%RW
Tension – ISO 527-4: 1997
Sample Dimensions Maximum Tensile Tensile Poisson’s
Load Strength Modulus Ratio
(mm) (kN) (MPa) (GPa)
004: Tension 0° 1 24.92 x 1.91 27.7 581 52.7 0.054
005: Tension 0° 2 24.96 x 1.91 27.6 579 52.7 0.052
006: Tension 0° 3 24.92 x 1.91 26.6 559 52.8 0.054
Mean 27.3 573 52.7 0.053
Standard Deviation 0.61 12.20 0.06
% Co-Efficient of Variance 2.23 2.12 0.11
004 / 005 / 006: Laterally at grip

VTC401-C200-T300-2X2T-3K-42%RW
Flexure – ISO 14125 : 1998
Sample Dimensions Span Maximum Flexural Flexural Strain to
Load Strength Modulus Failure
(mm) (mm) (kN) (MPa) (GPa) (%)
010: Flexure 0° 1 15.30 x 1.8373.20 0.42 900 52.3 1.8
011: Flexure 0° 2 15.32 x 1.8473.20 0.39 835 52.0 1.6
012: Flexure 0° 3 15.31 x 1.8273.20 0.40 854 50.8 1.7
Mean 0.40 863 51.7 1.7
Standard Deviation 0.02 33.40 0.79 0.10
% Co-Efficient of Variance 3.79 3.87 1.54 5.88
010 / 011 / 012: Tensile Fracture

Issued 12th October 2016

Note: The information and assistance provided herein is for your consideration without legal responsibility. Users are required to perform verification and
testing to confirm that the product meets with their requirements.
 VTC401-C200-T300-2X2T-3K-42%RW
Inter Laminar SB – BS EN 2563 : 1997
Sample Dimensions Span Initial Failure Int. shear Shear
Load Load Strength Strength
(mm) (mm) (kN) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa)
013: IL SB 1 10.10 x 1.77 8.93 1.81 1.81 75.9 75.9
014: IL SB 2 10.06 x 1.79 8.93 1.76 1.76 73.2 73.3
015: IL SB 3 10.08 x 1.80 8.93 1.76 1.81 72.8 74.7
Mean 1.78 1.79 74.0 74.6
Standard Deviation 0.03 0.03 1.69 1.30
% Co-Efficient of Variance 1.63 1.61 2.28 1.74
013 / 014 / 015: Multiple Shear

VTC401-C200-T300-2X2T-3K-42%RW
DMA - AITM 1-0003 Issue 3
Sample Dimensions Span Tg – Storage Tg – Loss Tg – Tan δ
modulus Onset modulus Peak Peak
(mm) (mm) (°C) (°C) (°C)
007: DMA 1 10.15 x 1.7418.00 142.75 147.30 150.76
008: DMA 2 10.11 x 1.7817.93 142.33 146.94 150.42
009: DMA 3 10.09 x 1.7918.03 143.47 147.88 151.12
Mean 142.85 147.37 150.77
Standard Deviation 0.58 0.47 0.35
% Co-Efficient of Variance 0.40 0.32 0.24

Issued 12th October 2016

Note: The information and assistance provided herein is for your consideration without legal responsibility. Users are required to perform verification and
testing to confirm that the product meets with their requirements.