Hygrothermal Effects on Chopped Fibre/Woven Fabric Reinforced Epoxy Composites. Part B: Degradation Studies

Abstract

Studies were conducted on the degradation of short beam shear (SBS) and impact strength (Izod) properties of glass epoxy composite specimens with sequential ar rangements of woven roving (WR) and chopped strand mat (CSM) reinforcements, (Figure 1 of Part A) immersed in water at two different temperatures (298 K, 323 K). It was found that composites with higher fibre content, though possessed of a higher ini tial shear strength, degraded faster than those with low fibre content. This was attributed to a thin resin layer separating the glass layers and a consequential increased surface area around the fibres for the moisture absorption. Further, it was noted that while the impact strength too degraded with exposure period, the degradation patterns are almost identical in all types of laminates within the limits of fibre resin ratio chosen.