Effects of Sea Water on Glass / Epoxy and Kevlar/epoxy Composite Materials

Composite materials are being widely used in applications including marine industry where specific properties and corrosion resistance are required. Many applications have been mentioned for pipes systems on ships, offshore platforms and also for coastal engineering plant such as power stations and desalination installations. However, it was recognized that the optimum use of composite materials would be strengthened by more information on the durability of composite materials in such environment. In this paper, analytical and experimental investigations have been carried out on glass / epoxy and Kevlar / epoxy composite laminates in sea water at elevated temperatures. Both materials absorbed a considerable amount of water which caused degradation of physical and chemical structure of the material. Flexure Young's moduli for dry and wet samples were measured at elevated temperature using three bending test method. It was found that the moduli exhibited a considerable reduction above the glass transition temperature.