Diffusion of Water in Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites at Different Temperatures

1 Diffusion of Water in Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites at Different Temperatures Yiming Fan a , Antonio Gomez b , Serena Ferraro b , Brian Pinto b , Anastasia Muliana a *, Valeria La Saponara b * a Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, USA b Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Department, University of California, Davis, USA * corresponding authors: [email protected], [email protected] Abstract This study examines the effects of temperature and fiber and matrix diffusivities on the diffusion of fluid in glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites. GFRP thin plates were immersed in deionized water, at two temperatures: room temperature and 50 °C. During the diffusion process, the overall mass changes and dimension changes were recorded, which relate to the volumetric change and the through-the-thickness strain. Different constitutive models are considered in order to understand the diffusion of fluid through the GFRP plates. The macroscopic models of this work, Fickian and Gurtin coupled deformation-diffusion, are first considered in order to describe the macroscopic diffusion behaviors. Two microscopic models that include fiber volume contents and diffusivities of the constituents (fiber and matrix) are then considered in order to gain fundamental insight into the effects microstructural morphologies and constituents’ diffusivities on the diffusion process in the GFRP specimens.

Diffusion of Water in Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites at Different Temperatures

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fluid diffusion composites

glass fiberreinforced

thickness strain

aerospace industry