Hygrothermal Effects on RT-Cured Glass-Epoxy Composites in Immersion Environments. Part A: Moisture Absorption Characteristics

摘要

A study on the effect of moisture absorption haracteristics of RT-cure glass/epoxy composite and epoxy casting specimens immersed in freshly prepared artificial seawater and distilled water maintained at 333º K are presented in this paper. Results showed that the equilibrium moisture absorption value and the diffusion rate (slope of the moisture absorption curve) are higher in specimens immersed in distilled water than those of artificial seawater. The mixture rule for moisture absorption estimates has been verified for specimens immersed in both environments. These theoretically calculated values compared well with those experimentally obtained. The time of saturation for specimens immersed in seawater was found to be higher than that for those immersed in distilled water.