Environmental Durability of Graphite/Epoxy Composites: The Combined Effects of Moisture, Cathodic Polarization, and Stress.

摘要

The increasing acceptance and incorporation of fiber-reinforced polymer matrix composites (PMCs) as engineering construction materials have led many to look to the infrastructure as an application for these versatile materials. One such system is pultruded graphite fiber-reinforced epoxy (graphite/epoxy). Some PMC systems degrade when subjected to environmental conditions (e.g. moisture, stress, UV light, electrochemical polarization). These variables are typically studied either singularly or in series, but in real applications (e.g., aerospace, marine, infrastructure), these materials are subjected to many of these conditions simultaneously. To simulate field conditions, this study investigated the combined effects of an aqueous environment, electrochemical polarization, and applied bending stress on the durability of a pultruded graphite/epoxy composite. The findings indicate that graphite/epoxy composites cannot be assumed to be insensitive to degradation by environmental variables. Further, electrochemical polarization, as might occur with contact with a metal such as a fastener, can accelerate degradation. This damage requires the presence of moisture. Chloride and sulfate concentrations in rain are sufficient to establish an electrolyte within creviced regions, but deicing salts would overtake these as a contributor to conductivity.