The effect of aging on the mechanical properties of carbon fibre reinforced epoxy

Reilly, S. P. and Faull, K. and Thomason, J. L. (2012) The effect of aging on the mechanical properties of carbon fibre reinforced epoxy. In: 15th European Conference on Composite Materials, 2012-06-24 - 2012-06-28.

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Abstract

In this study, four types of carbon fibre-reinforced epoxy samples were exposed to accelerated aging in the form of hot water immersion for a 48 hour period. Properties of aged and unaged samples were then evaluated using Dynamic Mechanical Analysis and the short beam shear test. Analysis of results found a significant loss in the glass transition temperature of the aged samples attributed to plasticization of the matrix caused by water molecules forming single hydrogen bonds within the epoxy network. The short beam shear test revealed a significant decrease in interlaminar shear strength for all of the aged samples.