Effects of Moisture and Temperature on the Tensile Strength of Composite Materials

Abstract

The ultimate tensile strengths of Thornel 300/Fiberite 1034 graphite epoxy composites were measured with material temperatures ranging from 200 K to 422 K and moisture contents from 0% (dry) to 1.5% (fully saturated). All measurements were performed using 0°, 90° and π/4 laminates. A survey was also made of the existing data showing the effects of temperature and moisture content on the tensile strength of different composites.