Effect of hygrothermal aging on the mechanical and frictional wear properties of carbon fiber reinforced composites

Carbon fiber reinforced composites (CFRP) have the advantages of light weight, high strength, corrosion resistance, fatigue resistance and wear resistance, and have become a new advanced structural materials for marine engineering. In this paper, the effects of hygrothermal aging on the thermal/mechanical (tensile, flexural and short-beam shear properties) and frictional wear properties of CFRP were investigated. Combined with the analysis of micro-morphology and structure, the degradation mechanisms of mechanical and frictional wear properties of CFRP immersed in the distilled water at 60℃ for up to 90 days were revealed. It was found that the maximum degradation amplitudes of CFRP tensile, flexural and short-beam shear strengths were 5.8%, 13.0%, and 20.9%, due to the destruction of hydrogen bonds and partial covalent bonds of polymer resin chains by water molecules during the hygrothermal aging process, which resulted in the defect creation and the lateral restraint loss of the fiber bundles within the CFRP, ultimately leading to the de-bonding of fiber/resin interfaces. In addition, the thermodynamic and viscoelastic behavior of CFRP in the hygrothermal environment exhibited a nonlinear change, attributing to the coupling effects of positive resin post-curing and negative hygrothermal aging. Compared with those before immersion, the average COFs of CFRP aged for 15, 30, 60, and 90 days decreased by 23.8%, 35.0%, 43.7% and 53.8%, respectively, which was attributed to the friction lubrication of water molecules inside the diffused CFRP acting as friction lubricants during friction, alleviating the wear of the CFRP/abrasive ball interface. The Ws and WSW of CFRP aged for 90 days increased by 254.6% and 114.9% compared with that before aging, which was attributed to the fact that the water molecules forming new hydrogen bonds with the resin matrix were in the bonded water state, reducing inter-chain force between resin molecules and the continuous growth of their internal micro-cracks, resulting in severe fatigue wear.