Pultruded Carbon Fiber/Vinyl Ester Composites Processed with Different Fiber Sizing Agents. Part II: Enviro-Mechanical Durability
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VIEW THE REPLYPublication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 17, Issue 3
Abstract
Hexcel AS-4 12K carbon fibers were sized with two different thermoplastic sizing agents. The sizing agents tested were K-90 poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) and modified polyhydroxyether of bisphenol A (Phenoxy™). In addition, Hexcel AS-4 36K carbon fibers sized commercially with the standard were tested. The sized carbon fibers were processed into composites utilizing a pilot scale pultruder and a pultrudable vinyl–ester resin. Tension-tension fatigue tests were performed on the composites at a frequency of . Residual stiffness and curves were generated. The slopes of the normalized were different for the sizing and the thermoplastic sizings albeit the slopes of the two thermoplastic sizings were similar. Moisture absorption studies were performed on the composites by immersing the samples in tap water at . The diffusivity as well as maximum moisture content was observed to be sensitive to the type of sizing. In addition to the fiber-reinforced composites, blends of the sizing (PVP and phenoxy) and vinyl–ester resin were tested to evaluate the influence of sizing concentration on moisture uptake. These immersion tests were performed in a water bath. Preferential hydrogen bonding between the PVP and vinyl–ester was seen to affect the uptake behavior of the blends as opposed to the pure components. Finally, the residual tensile properties of the saturated composites were obtained and again the influence of the different sizings was seen to be prominent. The residual strengths for the Phenoxy™, PVP, and composites were 0.85, 0.87, and 0.82, respectively.
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Acknowledgments
The writers would like to thank the National Science Foundation Center High Performance Polymeric Adhesives and Composites for supporting this effort under Grant No. NSFDMR-9120004. In addition, the authors would like to thank the Adhesives and Sealant Council Education Foundation (ASCEF) through the Center for Adhesives and Sealant Science (CASS) at Virginia Tech for financial support. Financial support was also furnished by the Virginia Space Grant Consortium. The writers also thank Mr. Clint Smith at Strongwell Inc. in Bristol, Va. for facilitating the use of their lab-scale pultruder. Material contributions from The Dow Chemical Company, Phenoxy Associates, and BASF are acknowledged. The writers’ appreciation also goes to Dr. Christopher Robertson for his help on the thermal analysis, Mr. Bill Shaver in the machine shop, and Mr. Mac McCord for all their help.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 17 • Issue 3 • June 2005
Pages: 334 - 342
Copyright
© 2005 ASCE.
History
Received: Feb 3, 2000
Accepted: Jan 10, 2001
Published online: Jun 1, 2005
Published in print: Jun 2005
Notes
Note. Associate Editor: Tinh Nguyen
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