VARIATIONS OF MOISTURE ABSORPITION AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF 
DIFFERENT COMPOSITES WITH IMMERSION TIME IN WATER

Abstract

Abstract:

Unsaturated polyester resin(UPR) is used as matrix， glass fiber cloth， ramie fiber cloth

and/or basic magnesium sulfated whisker are used as reinforcement to form composites by compression

molding process.The variations of moisture absorption and mechanical properties of different

composites with immersion time in water at 30℃ and 50℃ respectively were studied. The results show

that， the water uptakes of all the composites increase with immersion time in water， the

composites absorb water much fast from 0h to 8h， then relaxedly or unchanged.The water uptakes at

50℃ are always more than those at 30℃|the reinforcement of glass fiber cloth on UPR is far better

than ramie cloth| hybrid with whisker will decrease the tensile and impact strengths of the

composites containing either glass cloth or ramie cloth， but increase their flexural strengths and

tensile moduli. With the prolong of immersion time in water， the tensile strengths of the

composites reinforced with glass cloth along or glass cloth and whisker together at 30℃ and 50℃

will decrease| the impact strengths of the composites reinforced with ramie cloth reach the maxima

of 49.1kJ/m2 and 48.8 kJ/m2 at 30℃ and 50℃ respectively when immersed in water for 16h，

accordingly 98.78% and 97.57% increased from those before immersion， and the impact strengths of

the composites reinforced with the hybrid of ramie cloth and whisker increase monotonously with time

at the two temperatures through the whole water immersion test.

Key words: composite, unsaturated polyester, glass fiber cloth, ramie fiber cloth, basic magnesium sulfated whisker, water uptake, mechanical property

CLC Number:

TB332

Lei, W., S. C. Q., X. Y.. VARIATIONS OF MOISTURE ABSORPITION AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF
DIFFERENT COMPOSITES WITH IMMERSION TIME IN WATER[J]. Fiber Reinforced Plastics/Composites, 2009, 205(6): 19-24.

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