ISSN: 0884-6804
Page Count: 3

No-Stress Aging of Aramid/Epoxy Composites
Hahn, HT
Washington University, MO

Moore, RL
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, CA

Chiao, TT
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, CA

Abstract

Environmental degradation of composite materials is of serious concern for many long-term applications. This is particularly true in the case of aramid/epoxy composites because both the reinforcing fiber and the matrix are organic materials. Over the past decade, we have collected limited data on no-stress aging of these materials, which we summarize here. We aged the test specimens in three environments: (1) 20 to 23°C, 20 to 55% relative humidity (RH), no fluorescent lighting; (2) 20 to 28°C, 24 to 37% RH, with fluorescent lighting; and (3) outdoor weathering in San Ramon, CA. When the composite strands and vessels were stored in the dark (indoors), we found no noticeable strength degradation in ambient environment for up to ten years.

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Paper ID: CTR10804J
DOI: 10.1520/CTR10804J
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