Abstract
The results of a study of environmental ageing on the apparent interfacial shear strength of glass fibre – vinyl ester microbond samples are presented. The scale related issues of estimating water absorption levels in microbond samples are reviewed and discussed and a solution based on Fickian diffusion is given. Interphase strength of microdroplets aged in water at 23 °C was relatively stable up to 6 days exposure after which strength degradation was fairly rapid. Immersion in water at 50 °C resulted in an immediate 20-30% irreversible loss of strength. Further exposure beyond 2 days led to total loss of integrity of the microbond samples. Electron microscope images of aged microdroplets appeared to show the development of a bi-phasic microstructure. The presence of two phases in small scale vinyl ester polymer samples was confirmed by DMA on thin films.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 377-391 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Composite Interfaces |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Early online date | 5 Sept 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 3 Apr 2023 |
Keywords
- interphase
- adhesion
- ageing
- durability
- glass fibre
- vinyl ester