Abstract
Unidirectional carbon/vinylester composites and concrete cylinders wrapped with three layers of the same composite were exposed to -18°C (0°F) conditions both with and without prior saturation by moisture and to freeze-thaw cycling after saturation. All specimens show degradation in strength, with the maximum degradation being due to the saturated freeze-thaw condition caused by cyclic effects of absorption, subsequent crack-opening and fiber-matrix debonding. Analytical predictions, based on approximation of hygrothermomechanical response models for composites combined with a simple confinement model, are shown to correlate well with experimental data for most of the exposure conditions.
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