Environmental degradation of E‐glass/nanocomposite under the combined effect of UV radiation,moisture, and rain |
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| Authors: | Victor A. Agubra Hosur V. Mahesh |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Materials Research and Education Center, Material Engineering Department, Auburn University, , Auburn, Alabama, 36849;2. Center for Advanced Materials, Materials Science and Engineering Department, Tuskegee University, , Tuskegee, Alabama, 36088 |
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| Abstract: | This study seeks to investigate how the enhanced properties of the nanoclay E‐glass/epoxy composite can withstand the combined effects of ultraviolet radiation, moisture, and rain. The montmorillonite nanoclay's affinity to moisture compounded the moisture absorption ability of the nanoclay E‐glass/epoxy composites. The moisture in the polymer structure caused delamination, debonding of the fibers/matrix, microvoids, and fiber pullouts. The high clay content (2 wt %), therefore, recorded the highest rate of degradation of 15% in flexural stress for the first 20 days, compared to about 8 and 6% loss for the unmodified (0 wt %) and 1 wt % composites respectively. However, as the aging progressed beyond 20 days, the rate of degradation of the nanoclay E‐glass/epoxy composites laminates was steady at 10 and 18%, respectively, for the 1 and 2 wt %, while that of the unmodified polymer continued to degrade progressively. On the contrary, the viscoelastic properties of the nanoclay E‐glass/epoxy composites continued to deteriorate at a faster rate than the unmodified polymer composite. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2014 , 52, 1024–1029 |
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| Keywords: | degradation irradiation mechanical properties thermal properties nanoparticles |
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