Study of the interfacial degradation of a glass-epoxy composite during hygrothermal ageing using water diffusion measurements and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis

Abstract The hygrothermal degradation of a glass fibre/epoxy unidirectional composite is investigated by moisture sorption/desorption experiments and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (d.m.t.a.). At short immersion times, water sorption in distilled water can be satisfactorily described by using Fick's law. The three-dimensional analysis of water diffusion in parallelepipedic samples shows that no significant interfacial capillary flow occurs during the initial Fickian step where water sorption occurs mainly by diffusion through the epoxy network. This conclusion was found to be valid even at the most elevated ageing temperature (90°C). Slow positive deviations from the Fickian behaviour are noticed for long ageing times at 70 and 90°C. They have been found to be correlated to some interfacial debonding, as indicated by an enhanced desorption rate during thermogravimetric analysis (t.g.a.) scans. During these non-Fickian sorption steps, the d.m.t.a. spectra of the aged composite also reveal the progressive appearance of an irreversible broadening of the damping peak associated with the α-relaxation. These processes have been attributed to the occurrence of specific morphological changes and debonding at the interphase during ageing. It is concluded that the hygrothermal degradation of the interface occurs essentially in the non-Fickian sorption steps when the epoxy matrix is close to saturation.