SEDL / STP / STP1178-EB / STP15547S

Stability of Polysulfone Composite Materials in a Lipid Environment

Salzstein, RA
Senior research engineer and project manager, BHC Laboratories, Inc., a joint venture of Biomet, Inc., and Hercules Incorporated, c/o Hercules Incorporated, Research Center, Wilmington, DE

Moran, JM
Senior research engineer and project manager, BHC Laboratories, Inc., a joint venture of Biomet, Inc., and Hercules Incorporated, c/o Hercules Incorporated, Research Center, Wilmington, DE

Pages: 12    Published: Jan 1993

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Abstract

A study was conducted to determine if the performance of polysulfone/carbon fiber laminates is affected by lipids, as might be found in vivo. Stress-rupture testing of neat polysulfone showed that 100% soybean oil provided a more severe lipid environment than bone marrow. Fracture toughness, creep, and fatigue tests were chosen to study the influence of this lipid environment on the integrity of the laminates composed of polysulfone reinforced with carbon fiber. These tests evaluated the integrity of the composite material under extreme conditions. Based on the studies of this investigation, the following can be concluded; within the time periods examined in this study, lipid conditioning had no effect on the composite material performance in any of the tests.