Volume 10,
Issue 4, 2001
PRELIMINARY
RESULTS ON THE EFFECT OF METHANOL-BASED FUELS ON THE TENSILE PROPERTIES OF
FRP MICRO-SPECIMENS
A.Y.L.
Goh*, J. K. Kariuki**, A.W.Skelhorne**, A. Bhattacharyya*1 ,
M.T.McDermott**, T.W. Forest*, and G.Steadman***
*4-9
Mechanical Engineering Building, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2G8,
Canada
**Department
of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2G2, Canada
***R.P.
Composites Engineering Inc., 106 Sioux Road, Sherwood Park, Alberta T8A
3X5, Canada
1(To
whom correspondence should be addressed)
(Received
3/01; accepted 7/01)
ABSTRACT
This paper
reports a simple experimental technique developed to measure strains in
fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) tensile micro-specimens (nominal
thickness: 254 mm) before and after these were exposed to a 50-50
volumetric mixture of methanol and ASTM Fuel C. Micro-specimens were
used to reduce the time required for the fuel mixture to diffuse into
the FRP. The developed technique is then used to study the effect of the
methanol-based fuel on the tensile properties of the micro-specimens. In
particular, the stress of the specimens at a strain of 1.5% is seen to
be significantly lower when the specimens are tested immediately after
exposure to the fuel for 3 day and 7 day periods as compared to the
stress for specimens not exposed to the fuel. The loss in stress is
found to be significantly recoverable when the exposed specimens are
tested after allowing them to dry for an equal length of time, i.e. 3
days and 7 days. These results point to two possibilities: 1. Design of
FRP structures exposed to alcohol-based fuels, e.g. underground fuel
storage tanks, may have to account for noticeable mechanical property
changes of the FRP during the service period, 2. Any property changes
may be partially reversed by allowing the structures to “dry” over
an appropriate period of time.
Keywords:
FRP, composite, methanol, fuel, micro, storage, diffusion
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