ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION Chemorheology is the study of rheological changes in a system due to the occurrence of chemical reactions. Such reactions are an integral part of thermoset polymer processing. The reactants are mixed together, and curing is typically initiated by raising the temperature of the system or by irradiating it. The process itself may be run batchwise or continuously. and the reaction may involve either stepgrowth or chain-growth polymerization. As the reaction proceeds, the molecular weight of the reactants increases, and, if one of the starting materials is a prepolymer, branches begin to form. These branches are crosslinking points, and as the branches become longer with time they ultimately interconnect to form a threedimensional network called a gel.
