Freeze-Thaw Response of Glass-Polyester Composites at Different Loading Rates

Abstract

The present literature suggests the need for investigating and characterizing the freeze-thaw response of polymer composites under different loading rates and also at ambient and sub-ambient temperatures. The present experiment has been carried out with three different weight fractions (i.e., 0.55, 0.6, and 0.65) of glass fiber-reinforced polyester composites. The short beam shear specimens are suddenly exposed to - 80ºC for 2 h and then a three-point bend test is conducted instantaneously at this temperature. Another batch of samples is allowed to thaw at ambient temperature for 1 h and tested on flexural mode at ambient temperature. The testing was carried out for a range of 0.5-500 mm/min crosshead speed. The shear strengths at cryogenic temperature and thawing temperature are compared with the room temperature-tested data of the shear value of laminates.