Impact of the harsh environment on GFRE and GFRPol composite

This paper presents an experimental study to investigate the effects of high temperature and seawater on the mechanical behavior of glass/polyurethane and glass/epoxy composite materials. These properties were analyzed in terms of degradation in physical and mechanical characteristics of the composite materials. Samples were immersed in seawater at room temperature (23°C) and 65°C for the duration of three years. It was observed that glass/polyurethane degrades at a faster rate than glass/epoxy under sea water environment. The tensile strength reduced to 67% and 97% for glass polyurethane and E-glass epoxy at 23°C respectively whereas it reduced by 56% and 39% at 65°C. However, slight variation was observed in modulus of elasticity of both composites.