THE EFFECTS OF MOISTURE ON THE FATIGUE BEHAVIOR OF A GLASS/VINYL ESTER COMPOSITE

As composite materials find increasing use in infrastructure applications where the design lives are typically much longer than aerospace applications, the issue of durability becomes more critical for these materials. The tolerance of composites to damage by cyclic loading and moisture ingressions is of utmost importance. This study addresses the change in quasi-static and R=0.1 (tension-tension) fatigue behavior of a commercial glass/vinyl ester system due to moisture. Quasi-static tension strength is reduced by 26% at a moisture concentration of 0.95%, by weight. This reduction in strength is not recovered when the material is desorped, suggesting that the exposure to moisture caused permanent damage in the material system. The fatigue life of the wet material is reduced by a factor consistent with its reduction in fast fracture strength; i.e. the dry and wet S-N curves possess the same slope but different intercepts. Normalized stiffness and strength reduction as a function of cycles reveals similar damage progression for both the dry and wet materials, which suggests that the sub-critical and critical damage events are uniformly affected by the moisture content.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/1890743011
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Arizona, Tucson

  Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
  1209 E 2nd Street
  Tucson, AZ  United States  85721-0072

  University of Arizona, Tucson

  Drachman Institute, 819 E First Street
  Tucson, AZ  United States  85721
• Authors:
  • Hayes, M D
  • Garcia, K
  • Verghese, N
  • Lesko, J J
• Conference:
  • Second International Conference on Composites in Infrastructure
  • Location: Tucson, Arizona
  • Date: 1998-1-5 to 1998-1-7
• Publication Date: 1998-1

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 1-13
• Serial:
  • Volume: 1

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Composite materials; Durability; Esters; Fatigue strength; Glass; Loads; Moisture content; Repeated loads; Stiffness; Strength of materials; Tension; Vinyl resins
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; Materials; I35: Miscellaneous Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00762546
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 1890743011
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 27 1999 12:00AM