Moisture absorption tests for materials that exhibit non-Fickian behavior generally require a relatively long period to reach saturation. Therefore, it would be beneficial to establish a relationship between the moisture content and the thickness to minimize the experimental time and cost. This research characterizes the moisture absorption behavior of AS4/8552 carbon/epoxy composites. Specimens were prepared at 4, 8, and 16 plies and immersed in distilled water at 60 °C. The relationship between the non-Fickian parameters (Fickian to non-Fickian maximum moisture content ratio ϕ, non-Fickian diffusivity per square thickness α, and non-Fickian initiation time to) and thickness was characterized using a thickness-dependent model. A comparison with other materials revealed that all three non-Fickian parameters are able to be fitted using a power law. Nevertheless, the upper boundary for the applicability of this model was not determined in this study. The Weibull distribution plots indicate that the probability of non-Fickian moisture absorption is influenced by ϕ and α at approximately 62% within a normalized thickness range of 2-3. In regards to to, it is 82% at a normalized thickness of 6. Therefore, the Weibull distribution is proposed for the assessment of non-Fickian moisture absorption based on the material's thickness.

Department of Aerospace Engineering Faculty of Engineering Universiti Putra Malaysia Serdang 43400 Malaysia

Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Bangi 43600 Malaysia

Faculty of Engineering and Science Curtin University Malaysia Miri 98009 Malaysia

Institute for Nanomaterials Advanced Technologies and Innovation Studentska 2 461 17 Liberec Czech Republic

School of Mechanical Engineering Faculty of Engineering Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Johor Bahru 81310 Malaysia

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Guermazi N., Ben Tarjem A., Ksouri I., Ayedi H.F. On the durability of FRP composites for aircraft structures in hygrothermal conditioning. Compos. Part B Eng. 2016;85:294–304. doi: 10.1016/j.compositesb.2015.09.035. DOI

Middendorf P., Metzner C. Aerospace applications of non-crimp fabric composites. In: Lomov S.V., editor. Non-Crimp Fabric Composites. Woodhead Publishing; Cambridge, UK: 2011. pp. 441–449e.

Mad Asasaari S.F., Wong K.J., Tamin M.N., Johar M. Moisture absorption effects on the mechanical properties of carbon/epoxy composites. Int. J. Struct. Integr. 2020;11:605–614. doi: 10.1108/IJSI-12-2019-0136. DOI

Wong K.J., Gong X.J., Aivazzadeh S., Tamin M.N. Moisture effects on patch bonded composite repairs. Key Eng. Mater. 2016;709:3–6. doi: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.709.3. DOI

Wong K.J., Israr H.A., Tamin M.N. Characterisation of moisture absorption effects on the strength of composite materials. Adv. Mater. Res. 2015;1125:69–73. doi: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.1125.69. DOI

Barbosa A.P.C., Fulco A.P.P., Guerra E.S., Arakaki F.K., Tosatto M., Costa M.C.B., Melo J.D.D. Accelerated aging effects on carbon fiber/epoxy composites. Compos. Part B Eng. 2017;110:298–306. doi: 10.1016/j.compositesb.2016.11.004. DOI

Meng M., Rizvi M.J., Grove S.M., Le H.R. Effects of hygrothermal stress on the failure of CFRP composites. Compos. Struct. 2015;133:1024–1035. doi: 10.1016/j.compstruct.2015.08.016. DOI

Johar M., Chong W.W.F., Kang H.S., Wong K.J. Effects of moisture absorption on the different modes of carbon/epoxy composites delamination. Polym. Degrad. Stab. 2019;165:117–125. doi: 10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2019.05.007. DOI

Davidson B.D., Kumar M., Soffa M.A. Influence of mode ratio and hygrothermal condition on the delamination toughness of a thermoplastic particulate interlayered carbon/epoxy composite. Compos. Part A Appl. Sci. Manuf. 2009;40:67–79. doi: 10.1016/j.compositesa.2008.10.006. DOI

LeBlanc L.R., LaPlante G. Experimental investigation and finite element modeling of mixed-mode delamination in a moisture-exposed carbon/epoxy composite. Compos. Part A Appl. Sci. Manuf. 2016;81:202–213. doi: 10.1016/j.compositesa.2015.11.017. DOI

Zhao Y., Liu W., Seah L.K., Chai G.B. Delamination growth behavior of a woven E-glass/bismaleimide composite in seawater environment. Compos. Part B Eng. 2016;106:332–343. doi: 10.1016/j.compositesb.2016.09.045. DOI

Bao L.-R., Yee A.F., Lee C.Y.C. Moisture absorption and hygrothermal aging in a bismaleimide resin. Polymer. 2001;42:7327–7333. doi: 10.1016/S0032-3861(01)00238-5. DOI

Bao L.-R., Yee A.F. Moisture diffusion and hygrothermal aging in bismaleimide matrix carbon fiber composites. Part I: Uni-weave composites. Compos. Sci. Technol. 2002;62:2099–2110. doi: 10.1016/S0266-3538(02)00161-6. DOI

Bao L.-R., Yee A.F. Moisture diffusion and hygrothermal aging in bismaleimide matrix carbon fiber composites. Part II: Woven and hybrid composites. Compos. Sci. Technol. 2002;62:2111–2119. doi: 10.1016/S0266-3538(02)00162-8. DOI

Karbhari V.M., Xian G. Hygrothermal effects on high Vf pultruded unidirectional carbon/epoxy composites: Moisture uptake. Compos. Part B Eng. 2009;40:41–49. doi: 10.1016/j.compositesb.2008.07.003. DOI

Manfredi L.B., Santis H.D., Vázquez A. Influence of the addition of montmorillonite to the matrix of unidirectional glass fibre/epoxy composites on their mechanical and water absorption properties. Compos. Part A Appl. Sci. Manuf. 2008;39:1726–1731. doi: 10.1016/j.compositesa.2008.07.016. DOI

Wang Y., Zhu W., Wan B., Meng Z., Han B. Hygrothermal ageing behavior and mechanism of carbon nanofibers modified flax fiber-reinforced epoxy laminates. Compos. Part A Appl. Sci. Manuf. 2021;140:106142. doi: 10.1016/j.compositesa.2020.106142. DOI

Berens A.R., Hopfenberg H.B. Diffusion and relaxation in glassy polymer powders: 2. Separation of diffusion and relaxation parameters. Polymer. 1978;19:489–496. doi: 10.1016/0032-3861(78)90269-0. DOI

Yian Z., Zhiying W., Keey S.L., Boay C.G. Long-term viscoelastic response of E-glass/bismaleimide composite in seawater environment. Appl. Compos. Mater. 2015;22:693–709. doi: 10.1007/s10443-014-9431-2. DOI

Carter H.G., Kibler K.G. Langmuir-type model for anomalous moisture diffusion in composite resins. J. Compos. Mater. 1978;12:118–131. doi: 10.1177/002199837801200201. DOI

LaPlante G., Ouriadov A.V., Lee-Sullivan P., Balcom B.J. Anomalous moisture diffusion in an epoxy adhesive detected by magnetic resonance imaging. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2008;109:1350–1359. doi: 10.1002/app.28106. DOI

Ameli A., Dalta N.V., Papini M., Spelt J.K. Hygrothermal properties of highly toughened epoxy adhesives. J. Adhes. 2010;86:698–725. doi: 10.1080/00218464.2010.482405. DOI

Lee M.H., Peppas N.A. Water transport in graphite/epoxy composites. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 1993;47:1349–1359. doi: 10.1002/app.1993.070470805. DOI

Popineau S., Rondeau-Mouro C., Sulpice-Gaillet C., Shanahan M.E.R. Free/bound water absorption in an epoxy adhesive. Polymer. 2005;46:10733–10740. doi: 10.1016/j.polymer.2005.09.008. DOI

La Saponara V. Environmental and chemical degradation of carbon/epoxy and structural adhesive for adhesive for aerospace applications: Fickian and anomalous diffusion, Arrhenius kinetics. Compos. Struct. 2011;93:2180–2195. doi: 10.1016/j.compstruct.2011.03.005. DOI

Barink M., Mavinkurve A., Janssen J. Predicting non-Fickian moisture diffusion in EMCs for application in micro-electronic devices. Microelectron. Reliab. 2016;62:45–49. doi: 10.1016/j.microrel.2016.03.016. DOI

Loh W.K., Crocombe A.D., Abdel Wahab M.M., Ashcroft I.A. Modelling anomalous moisture uptake, swelling and thermal characteristics of a rubber toughened epoxy adhesive. Int. J. Adhes. Adhes. 2005;25:1–12. doi: 10.1016/j.ijadhadh.2004.02.002. DOI

Placette M.D., Fan X., Zhao J.-H., Edwards D. Dual stage modeling of moisture absorption and desorption in epoxy mold compounds. Microelectron. Reliab. 2012;52:1401–1408. doi: 10.1016/j.microrel.2012.03.008. DOI

Shirangi M.H., Auerspeg J., Koyuncu M., Walter H., Müller W.H., Michel B. Characterization of dual-stage moisture diffusion, residual moisture content and hygroscopic swelling of epoxy molding compounds; Proceedings of the 9th EuroSime2008; Freibury, Germany. 20–23 April 2008.

Wong K.J., Low K.O., Israr H.A., Tamin M.N. Thickness-dependent non-Fickian moisture absorption in epoxy molding compounds. Microelectron. Reliab. 2016;65:160–166. doi: 10.1016/j.microrel.2016.08.014. DOI

Johar M., Kang H.S., Chong W.W.F., Wong K.J. A further generalized thickness-dependent non-Fickian moisture absorption model using plain woven epoxy composites. Polym. Test. 2018;69:522–527. doi: 10.1016/j.polymertesting.2018.06.013. DOI

Rajaram A.N., Gin Boay C., Srikanth N. Effect of curing on the hygrothermal behaviour of epoxy and its carbon composite material. Compos. Commun. 2020;22:100507. doi: 10.1016/j.coco.2020.100507. DOI

ASTM International . ASTM D5229. Standard Test Method for Moisture Absorption Properties and Equilibrium Conditioning of Polymer Matrix Composite Materials. ASTM International; West Conshohocken, PA, USA: 2010.

Lightweight Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composite for Automotive Bumper Applications: A Review