Study on the Aging Properties of Polymeric Composites by Using Accelerated Test Method

When composite structures exposed to severe environmental conditions, the properties of the composites may become very low and may be no longer satisfied to the design requirements as aging time increases. It is therefore very important to investigate the effects of environmental factors on the degradation of the composite properties. In this study, mechanical and thermal analysis properties of glass fabric / phenolic composites are investigated by using a 2.5 KW accelerated environmental aging tester. Degradations for tensile, bending and shear properties are evaluated through a Universal Testing Machine (UTM). Storage shear modulus, loss shear modulus and tan delta are measured as a function of exposure time through a Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer (DMA). Experimental results show that the tensile, bending, and shear strength, the storage shear modulus and glass transition temperature of specimen exposed in severe environmental conditions decreased with increasing exposure time at different aging degree.