Volume 16, Issue 4, 2007

LETTER: STUDY OF THE BEHAVIOUR OF GLASS-FIBRE FABRIC REINFORCED PEI SUBJECTED TO THERMAL LOADS. INFLUENCE OF AGING

Chacón, L.¹, Argüelles, A.², Viña, I.², Castrillo, M. A.² Viña, J.^3*

¹ Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science School, Central University of Venezuela, Los Chaguaramos, Caracas, Venezuela
² Department of Construction and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Oviedo, 33204 Gijón, Spain
³ Department of Materials Science, University of Oviedo, 33204 Gijón, Spain

Received 27 August 2007 ; accepted 21 September 2007

ABSTRACT

The behaviour of specimens from a composite made of a thermoplastic matrix PEI (polyetherimide) reinforced with glass-fibre fabric was studied. The material was exposed to accelerated aging in a climatic chamber at 70ºC and a relative humidity of 95%, during periods of time of 10, 30, 60, 90, 180 and 360 days. The specimens were subsequently subjected to isothermal tests at 50, 100 and 150ºC during 250, 750 and 2000 minutes with a constant stress of 40% of the material’s tensile strength (obtained to ambient temperature). These three temperature values were selected from the results obtained in tensile tests carried out on specimens subjected to different temperatures ranging between ambient temperature and that of glass transition. In addition, the behaviour of the aged specimens was compared with the original material, using the same parameters of temperature, time and constant stress. An increment in tensile strength with regard to the original material was observed.