Visible Light Curing of Fiberglass-Reinforced Ballistic Panels

Yunyun Bi, SUNY ESF

Abstract: Visible light curing of composite is predominantly used in dentistry. This paper introduces a novel industrial application of using blue (470 nm) LEDs to photocure fiberglass-reinforced impact resistant panels that is traditionally manufactured by heat curing. Photopolymerization took place with the assistance of a customized LED array radiating blue light. The performance of the panels was tested by comparing their performance to commercially available heat cured panels.