Elastic and Sorption Characteristics of an Epoxy Binder in a Composite During Its Moistening

Abstract

Results of an experimental investigation into the elastic and sorption characteristics of a model composite material (CM) — epoxy resin filled with LiF crystals — during its moistening are presented. Properties of the binder in the CM with different filler contents (v f = 0, 0.05, 0.11, 0.23, 0.28, 0.33, 0.38, and 0.46) were evaluated indirectly by using known micromechanical models of CMs. It was revealed that, for the CM in a conditionally initial state, the elastic modulus of the binder in it and the filler microstrain (change in the interplanar distance in the crystals, measured by the X-ray method) as functions of filler content had the same character. The elastic modulus of the binder in the CM with a low filler content was equal to that for the binder in a block; the elastic modulus of the binder in the CM decreased with increasing filler content. The maximum (corresponding to water saturation of the CM) stresses in the binder and the filler microstresses as functions of filler content were of the same character. Moreover, the absolute values of maximum stresses in the binder and of filler microstresses coincided for high and low contents of the filler. At v f = 0.2–0. 3, the filler microstrains exceeded the stresses in the binder. The effect of moisture on the epoxy binder in the CM with a high filler content was not entirely reversible: the elastic characteristics of the binder increased, the diffusivity decreased, and the ultimate water content increased after a moistening-drying cycle.