Analisys of tensile strenghts of fiber reinforced composite material after accelerated aging tests

Use of fiber reinforced composite in the production process and major applications could be much more rapid knowing the trend of their mechanical properties degradation due to aging caused by environmental conditions, even extreme. Accelerated-aging tests may be help to estimate potential long-term utilization of material systems under expected conditions of use. However, considering that the aging of a material and the alteration of its characteristics through time are a very complex phenomenon a mathematical modeling, even if approximate, may assist in the interpretation of the data collected by accelerated aging test and provide a sufficiently powerful and fast tool if necessary choose between different materials. This experimental work describes activities carried out at Materials Technologies Laboratory of ENEA Trisaia Research Centre: the results of accelerated aging tests in climatic chambers to characterize carbon and glass fiber reinforced composites with reference to tensile strength variation and the development of a numerical model to simulate in a fast way the extent of degradation through a few parameters.