Monitoring Moisture Damage Propagation in GFRP Composites Using Carbon Nanoparticles

Abstract

Glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites are widely used in infrastructure applications including water structures due to their relatively high durability, high strength to weight ratio, and non-corrosiveness. Here we demonstrate the potential use of carbon nanoparticles dispersed during GFRP composite fabrication to reduce water absorption of GFRP and to enable monitoring of moisture damage propagation in GFRP composites. GFRP coupons incorporating 2.0 wt % carbon nanofibers (CNFs) and 2.0 wt % multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were fabricated in order to study the effect of moisture damage on mechanical properties of GFRP. Water absorption tests were carried out by immersing the GFRP coupons in a seawater bath at two temperatures for a time period of three months. Effects of water immersion on the mechanical properties and glass transition temperature of GFRP were investigated. Furthermore, moisture damage in GFRP was monitored by measuring the electrical conductivity of the GFRP coupons. It was shown that carbon nanoparticles can provide a means of self-sensing that enables the monitoring of moisture damage in GFRP. Despite the success of the proposed technique, it might not be able to efficiently describe moisture damage propagation in GFRP beyond a specific threshold because of the relatively high electrical conductivity of seawater. Microstructural investigations using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) explained the significance of seawater immersion time and temperature on the different levels of moisture damage in GFRP.

Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Poly(ε-caprolactone)/Epoxy Blends for Superior Mechanical and Self-Sensing Performance in Multiscale Glass Fiber Composites

“…More specifically, the composite shows excellent piezoresistive behavior that, in conjunction with the tunneling transport that occurs between adjacent nanoparticles, makes possible the strain and damage monitoring by means of electrical conductivity measurements [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. This capability has been extensively explored in multiscale GF composites [ 18 ], showing a particularly high sensitivity to interlaminar [ 19 ], impact failure [ 20 ], or moisture damage propagation [ 21 ], as well as good flow and cure monitoring capabilities [ 22 , 23 ], making the multiscale composites suitable for structural health monitoring (SHM) applications. Furthermore, the damage sensing capabilities have been explored in relatively complex geometries under electrical impedance tomography (EIT) [ 24 ] and in other types of materials, such as adhesive joints [ 25 ].…”

Durability assessment of basalt fiber polymer as reinforcement to expanded clay concrete in harsh environment

“…Unfortunately, the durability of FRP composites is more complex than the corrosion of steel reinforcement because degradation of the material could depend both on the resin matrix and fibers and their interface bond behavior (Al-Sabagh et al, 2017;Ceroni et al, 2006;Lu et al, 2015;Sadik & Gokhan, 2019). Many previous studies have been conducted on the performance degradation of FRP-reinforced structures in a chloride-containing environment (Chen et al, 2007;Dong et al, 2016;Mishra & Chakraborty, 2016;Z.K.…”

Seawater Effect on Fatigue Behaviour of Notched Carbon/Epoxy Laminates

“…They noted a significant reduction in transverse strength for the water-immersed composites when compared to the control samples. The negative effect of environmental factors, such as seawater, on the physical and mechanical properties of composite materials has been addressed by many authors [3,27,28].…”