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Long-Term Durability of Polymeric Matrix Composites pp 383–425Cite as

Modeling Thermo-Oxidative Aging and Degradation of Composites

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Abstract

Long-term durability and use-life of polymeric matrix composites operating at elevated temperatures are limited by their thermo-oxidative stability. Although weight loss testing is traditionally performed to characterize the oxidative degradation of composite systems, the results of such tests are neither translatable to other composites architectures with the same constituents nor scalable to longer exposure times or higher temperatures. A comprehensive modeling framework for understanding the morphological changes in the composites and degradation of the mechanical performance is described in this chapter. A thermo-chemo-mechanics model that defines and utilizes an oxidation state parameter for each constituent is formulated. The effect of oxygen diffusion in the fiber and fiber–matrix interphase on the oxidation of the composite is simula-ted. The role of damage in accelerating the oxidation growth along the fiber direction leading to high orthotropy in lamina oxidation is also addressed. The stiffness changes due to oxidation as well as the strains induced due to shrinkage are explicitly modeled leading to a detailed simulation of oxidation growth around discrete cracks. Oxidation growth in laminated composites is predicted using microscale and homogenization techniques. The model is applied to study the long-term thermal oxidation of polyimide composites.

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Acknowledgments

A major portion of this work has been funded by Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR: Drs. Charles Lee and J. Harrison, Program Managers) and Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright Patterson AFB. Collaboration and interactions with Dr. G. P. Tandon, Dr. G. Schoeppner, Dr. R. Hall, and Prof. J. Whitcomb are deeply appreciated. I gratefully acknowledge the efforts of my students, Alan An, Dr. Eva Yu, and Andong Xu, which led to several insights presented in this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Design and Manufacturing Institute, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, 07030, USA

    Kishore V. Pochiraju

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  1. Kishore V. Pochiraju
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Correspondence to Kishore V. Pochiraju .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Mechanical Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology, Castle Point of Hudson, Hoboken, 07030, New Jersey, USA

    Kishore V. Pochiraju

  2. Dept. Materials Engineering, University of Dayton, College Park 300, Dayton, 45469-0160, Ohio, USA

    Gyaneshwar P. Tandon

  3. Materials & Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Lab., Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, 45433-7702, Ohio, USA

    Gregory A. Schoeppner

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Pochiraju, K.V. (2012). Modeling Thermo-Oxidative Aging and Degradation of Composites. In: Pochiraju, K., Tandon, G., Schoeppner, G. (eds) Long-Term Durability of Polymeric Matrix Composites. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9308-3_10

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