SEDL / STP / STP546-EB / STP35490S

Stress-Rupture Behavior of Strands of an Organic Fiber/Epoxy Matrix

Chiao, TT
Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, University of California, Livermore,

Wells, JE
Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, University of California, Livermore,

Moore, RL
Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, University of California, Livermore,

Hamstad, MA
Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, University of California, Livermore,

Pages: 16    Published: Jan 1974

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Abstract

The stress-rupture behavior of strands of an organic fiber impregnated with an epoxy matrix has been studied to evaluate the long-term performance of this class of composites. An increase in the applied stress of approximately 138 MN/m² (20 ksi) reduces the life of the organic fiber/epoxy strands by a factor of 10. This rate of degradation is about one half that of the S-glass/epoxy composite under identical nonhostile environmental conditions. A three-parameter Weibull function can describe the stress-rupture behavior. A Weibull extrapolation of data from more than 400 tests implies that this material has a survival probability of 0.9 for ten years while sustaining an equivalent fiber stress of 2200 MN/m² (320 ksi).