An Alteration of the Time-Temperature Superposition Principle to Account for Environmental Degradation in Fibre Reinforced Plastics

Abstract

The approach suggested in this analysis stems from basic material science laws and considers that any environmental degradation of polymer composites ultimately consists in chemical link and cohesion force alteration. Such alteration leads to the modification of material viscoelastic characteristics that can be measured through stress relaxation or creep. Then the analysis deals with the applicability of the time-temperature shift principle for prediction test in cases involving environmental degradation. It is demonstrated that the shift factor as determined from Arrhenius Law needs to incorporate an additional term to account for the variation of the activation energy of the chemical and physical degradation. The method leads to excellent prediction of the time and environment dependent material strength.