Laminar composite structures: Study of environmental aging effects on structural integrity

In this study, a glass fiber reinforced plastic sheet was analyzed to study the environmental deterioration (aging) on its surface, when placed in a chamber built for this purpose, and the mechanical behavior when subjected to uniaxial tension was also studied. The environmental deterioration of the sheet in the chamber (aging chamber) occurred in three different ways: in the first, the sheets were subjected to alternative exposure of vapor and UV radiation; in the second it was exposed just to UV radiation, and in the third it was exposed simply to vapor. The main objective of this arrangement was to find out which of the agents tested will contribute more on the deterioration (aging) of the sheet surface, as in a structural laminate, the outside sheet that is being exposed to, could suffer the same type of damage under the conditions studied. Techniques for thickness measurements, and the surface analysis using an optical microscope, a scanner and scanning electron microscope were used. For the determination of the uniaxial tensional properties, a universal testing instrument was used. Almost all the results showed that there is a direct influence on the environmental deterioration on each and every parameter studied.