Monitoring Moisture Damage Propagation in GFRP Composites Using Carbon Nanoparticles.

Ahmed Al-Sabagh,Usama Kandil,Eman Taha,Mahmoud Reda Taha,Gamal-Abdelnaser Nasr,Ahmed Awadallah

doi:10.3390/polym9030094

Abstract

Glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites are widely used in infrastructure applications including water structures due to their relatively high durability, high strength to weight ratio, and non-corrosiveness. Here we demonstrate the potential use of carbon nanoparticles dispersed during GFRP composite fabrication to reduce water absorption of GFRP and to enable monitoring of moisture damage propagation in GFRP composites. GFRP coupons incorporating 2.0 wt % carbon nanofibers (CNFs) and 2.0 wt % multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were fabricated in order to study the effect of moisture damage on mechanical properties of GFRP. Water absorption tests were carried out by immersing the GFRP coupons in a seawater bath at two temperatures for a time period of three months. Effects of water immersion on the mechanical properties and glass transition temperature of GFRP were investigated. Furthermore, moisture damage in GFRP was monitored by measuring the electrical conductivity of the GFRP coupons. It was shown that carbon nanoparticles can provide a means of self-sensing that enables the monitoring of moisture damage in GFRP. Despite the success of the proposed technique, it might not be able to efficiently describe moisture damage propagation in GFRP beyond a specific threshold because of the relatively high electrical conductivity of seawater. Microstructural investigations using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) explained the significance of seawater immersion time and temperature on the different levels of moisture damage in GFRP.

Highlights

In the last few decades, fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) have been increasingly used in civil and marine infrastructure due to their outstanding mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, fatigue performance, and light weight property [1]
We investigate the ability of carbon nanoparticles as carbon nano fibers (CNFs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) to reduce moisture absorption of Glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) and to enable monitoring moisture damage in GFRP composites
We examine the use of both carbon nanofibers (CNFs) and MWCNTs to monitor the propagation of moisture damage in GFRP

Summary

Introduction

In the last few decades, fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) have been increasingly used in civil and marine infrastructure due to their outstanding mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, fatigue performance, and light weight property [1]. Considerable efforts have been made to investigate the effect of moisture degradation of FRP. The diffusion behavior and effect of moisture absorption on tensile and flexural strength [2,3,4], interlaminar shear strength [4,5], fatigue and creep behavior [6], UV resistance [7], erosion behavior [8], and dynamic properties [9] of FRP were investigated. The influence of moisture absorption on the properties of FRP is governed by the matrix and the fiber-matrix interface. The diffusion of water into the matrix occupying void content resulting in matrix plasticization and the capillary

Methods

Results

Conclusion