Influence of water absorption on creep behaviour of carbon fiber/epoxy laminates

Abstract

The mechanical properties of polymer composites are changed in various environmental factor such as humid condition, low and high temperatures, water vapor and long-term physical chemical stability. Carbon fiber/epoxy laminates are fabricated to investigate the influence of the water absorption on flexural and creep behavior at 3-ponit bending. To estimate the effect of extreme environment on creep behavior of carbon fiber/epoxy laminates, specimens are absorbed in the distilled water for 24 hrs at 90 °C, frozen for 24 hrs at -16 °C in refrigerator. The water absorbed and frozen specimens are tested under 3-point loading at various temperature. Due to water molecules by immersion in the water, the flexural strength of the absorbed and frozenspecimen arelower than that of the normalspecimen. The steady state creep rate of the absorbed and frozen specimen are rapidly increased at 100 °C due to delamination from buckling in inner part.