Influence of Different Thawing Salts on the Material Properties of PA66GF30

Abstract

Rising weight and cost requirements in the automotive industry have led to an increasing substitution of metals by short-or endless-fiber reinforced thermoplastics. The use of thermoplastic matrices is necessary to meet the cycle time challenges which arise from large production quantities. The substituted components are often applied in the chassis or motor compartment, which means an exposition to environmental influences, e.g. moisture or thawing salts, during the entire operating lifetime. The degradation of the material properties of PA6GF30 due to a longtime exposition in DI (deionized) water, sodium-and calcium-chloride solutions is investigated and the fracture behavior examined by scanning electron microscopy analysis. Also, the fatigue properties were determined on a special test rig, which allows the spraying of the specimen with the different fluids during the mechanical cyclic testing.