Effects of immersion and sustained bending on water absorption and thermomechanical properties of ultraviolet cured glass fiber-reinforced acylate polymer composites

Abstract

An ultraviolet cured glass fiber-reinforced acylate polymer composite can be cured in several 10 sec, which is potentially used for quick repair of concrete structures. In the present paper, combined effects of water or alkaline solution immersion and sustained bending on its water absorption and thermomechanical properties were investigated. With increasing the sustained bending levels, water uptake and diffusion rate monotonically increased in ultraviolet cured glass fiber-reinforced acylate polymer. The combined effects lead to remarkable decreases in the tensile properties. More serious degradation of the tensile strength was found in the cases of higher sustained bending levels and/or alkaline solution immersion. After removal of sustained bending, residual deformation of samples was observed and depended on the bending levels and immersion medium, attributed to the orientation of the resin molecules. In all, 1% of water uptake led to about 8–9℃ reduction in the glass transition temperatures, regardless of sustained bending or immersion medium. The height of tan delta decrease with sustained bending levels indicates the occurrence of fiber debonding or delamination.