I am investigating the mechanical and physical property changes in the seawater aged GFRP. I am requiring a suggestion of to what maximum number of days should I age it. Is there a particular time after which the saturation is attained by the material concerning the water absorption?
Dear Dr. Ritesh R Bhat,
in general, the effect of seawater immersion on the durability of glass- and carbon-fibre reinforced polymer composites, when immersed in seawater at a temperature of 30 °C, up to 2 years of exposure have also been studied. The composites experienced significant moisture absorption and suffered chemical degradation of the resin matrix and fibre/matrix interphase region. This degraded the flexural modulus and strength of the composites, although the mode I interlaminar fracture toughness was only marginally affected by immersion. For more details, please see the source:
-Seawater durability of glass- and carbon-polymer composites
Alex Kootsookos, A.P. Mouritz
Composites Science and Technology 64(10-11):1503-1511 (2004)
Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/223102917_Seawater_durability_of_glass-_and_carbon-polymer_composites
I suggest that you prepare several samples and consider the measurement of the physical-mechanical properties at set times, with a difference of 2 / 3 months, for at least 1 or 2 years. Naturally you will have to prepare some samples that you will not exhibit and that will be your reference standard.
Furthermore, the type of exposure is not negligible: artificial sea water (or 3.5 wt. NaCl solution) in the laboratory or direct exposure in the field? In the latter case, mechanical, phisical and biological phenomena (in addition to chemical ones) will also have their effect ...
You could also have a look at the following interesting work:
-Effect of Seawater on Ageing of Polyester Composites and Study of Aged Composite Polymer
By Kerem KÜÇÜK –Master Thesis developed at ICAM, Nantes (2017)
Available at: https://matheo.uliege.be/bitstream/2268.2/4419/1/KUCUK%20Kerem_%20EMSHIP-Master_Thesis%20%28ICAM%29.pdf
Best regards, Pierluigi Traverso
It depends on ageing temperature, laminate fabrication technique used and trend of water absorption rate. An autoclave cured prepreg CFRP takes 3-4 months to reach saturation level.
Dear Ritesh，you may increase the ageing temperature to reduce the duration. And then weigh the samples, plotting weight change as a function of time. You can check if the water absorption follows the Fickian process. According to our experience and literature reports, the weight increases quickly and then stays relatively stable. So if you look at water absorption, the duration is not very long. But if you look at degradation of samples, then it needs relative long time.
Thanks all for the answers. Your inputs really mean a lot. Dr. Kui Wang , Dr. Alok Behera and Dr. Pierluigi Traverso
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