Durability, fiber-reinforced polymer composites

Juska, T. Dutta, P. Carlson, L. Weitsman, J.(1999). Gap Analysis for Durability of Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites in Civil Infrastructure, Thermal Effects, Chapter 5, pp.40-51. 

Devalapura, R. K., M. E. Greenwood, J. V. Gauchel and T. J. Humphrey (1998). Evaluation of GERP performance using accelerated test methods. First International Conference on Durability of Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites for Construction, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, pp. 107-116. 

Karbhari, V. M., J. W. Chin, D. Hunston, B. Benmokrane, T. Juska, R. Morgan, J. J. Lesko, U. Sorathia and D. Reynaud (2003). Durability gap analysis for fiber-reinforced polymer composites in civil infrastructure. Journal of Composites for Construction 7(3) pp. 238-247. 

Brena, S. E, S. L. Wood and M. L. Kreger (2002). Fatigue tests of reinforced polymer composites. Second International Conference on Durability of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Composites for Construction, Sherbrooke, Qudbec, Canada, pp. 575-586. 

M. M. Thwe, and K. Liao, Durability of bamboo-glass fiber reinforced polymer matrix hybrid composites. Composites Science and Technology, 63,375-387 (2003). 

Liao K, Schultheisz C R, Hunston D L and Brinson C L (1998), Long-term durability of fiber-reinforced polymer-matrix composite materials for infrastructure applications a review . Journal of Advanced Materials, 40(4), 4-40. 

Improving the durability of advanced fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites... 

Abstract In this chapter, we report the findings of experimental investigations conducted on durability of glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites with and without the addition of montmorillonite nanoclay. First, neat and nanoclay-added epoxy systems were characterized to evaluate the extent of clay platelet exfoliation and dispersion of nanoclay. GFRP composite panels were then fabricated with neat/modified epoxy resin and exposed to six different conditions, i.e. hot-dry/wet, cold-dry/wet, ultraviolet radiation and alternate ultraviolet radiation-condensation. Room temperature condition samples were also used for baseline consideration. 

CAN/CSA-S806-02 (2002). Design and Construction of Building Components with Fiber Reinforced Polymers. Rexdale, Ontario, Canadian Standards Association. Chajes, M. J., T. A. Thomson and C. A. Farshman (1995). Durability of concrete beams externally reinforced with composite fabrics. Construction and Building Materials 9(3) pp. 141-148. 

Kumar et al. [83] studied the weathering properties of ethylene-propylene copolymer (EPC) matrix composites with three different reinforcement materials, namely, 3% NaOH-treated jute fibers, 17.5% NaOH-treated jute fibers and commercial microcrystalline cellulose powder, using maleated EPC as a compatibilizer. The samples were subjected to UV radiation at 60°C in air for 150 hours. Again, the neat polymer samples were more resistant to weathering than the composites. The samples reinforced with commercial microcrystalline cellulose were the most stable of the composites and those made with fibers treated with the lower concentration of NaOH were the most susceptible to photo-oxidation. It was concluded that optimizing the durability and mechanical properties of the natural fiber-reinforced composites was closely dependent on selecting the appropriate treatment for the fibers. 

The durability of polymers may also be improved by the addition of reinforcing fillers and fibrous reinforcements (F) to the polymer matrix (M). The modulus of a composite is a function of the distribution (amount and orientation) of the fibers,/, the modulus of each component, G, and the partial volume of the fiber, C, as shown by the following equation ... 

---