Mechanical behaviors of glass/polyester composites after UV radiation

Abstract

Composites were fabricated by using glass fabric as the reinforcement and polyester as the matrix with the vacuum assisted resin infusion technique. Specimens were radiated by a Model SJD-1 ultraviolet lamp with various durations. The bending behavior, tensile strength, and the elongation at break of the UV radiated and unradiated composite panels were tested. The deteriorated mechanical properties of treated specimens were noticed. Usually, the bending strength would gradually decrease with prolonged UV radiation. The same trend was also seen for the tensile intensity of the samples. The corrosion process of the polymer caused by the oxygen in the atom state would be accelerated by the presentation of the UV ray, resulting in a serious damage on the material.

Micromechanics analysis of carbon fiber/epoxy microdroplet composite under UV light irradiation by micro‐Raman spectroscopy

“…For polymer composites, changes in their mechanical properties over time are usually unavoidable during their life‐cycle, which is of great significance for predicting the lifetime of the material. The mechanical performance changes of different kinds of composites caused by UV irradiation have been reported, and the experimental conditions and conclusions of these studies are summarized in Table . Figure shows the retention of mechanical properties of these polymer composites at different radiation times, and the data clearly indicate that the reduction in mechanical properties is common for all these composites, but the rate of performance deterioration was quite different in these studies, and the stress retention realized in this study is lowest compared to others.…”