DEGRADATION OF CARBON FIBER/EPOXY COMPOSITES BY XE LAMP AND HUMIDITY

In order to understand the effect of natural environmental factors on the carbon fiber/epoxy composites, the degradation of carbon fiber/epoxy composite was studied. The specimens were exposed in a Xe lamp chamber and suffered to ultraviolet light radiation, temperature and/or humidity conditions. The results show that the radiation, temperature and/or humidity could cause extensive corrosion to the surface and interior of the carbon/epoxy composite and attack the interface between matrix and carbon fiber, resulting in an obvious reduction of the transverse tensile strength and interlaminar shear strength. On the contrary, the longitudinal transverse shear strength was not affected much by the radiation, temperature and/or humidity. The results indicate that the radiation, temperature and/or humidity can result in the corrosion of the carbon/epoxy composite and consequently affect the mechanical properties of the carbon/epoxy composite partially.