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The Surface Finish of Thermally Aged Carbon Fibre Reinforced Composites Using E-glass as a Surface Barrier

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Abstract

This work investigated the effect of woven E-glass mass (25 g/m2, 50 g/m2, 85 g/m2, 135 g/m2) on the painted surface finish of various thermoset (EPIKOTETM RIM935, EPIKOTETM 04434, Ultratec LpTM ES300, Ultratec LpTM SPV6035) carbon fibre composite laminates, before and after aging at 95 °C for 168 h. The as-moulded laminate surfaces were evaluated using surface profilometry techniques and the painted and aged surfaces were evaluated using a wave-scan distinctness of image (DOI) instrument. It was found that the 25 g/m2 E-glass surface layer assisted with reducing the roughness of the as-moulded surfaces and the long-term waviness of the painted surfaces due to the increase in resin-richness at the surface. The EPIKOTETM 04434 resin system that contained diglycidyl ether of bisphenol F (DGEBF) epoxy had the least change in long-term waviness with thermal aging due to the rigid fluorene-based backbone in comparison to the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) systems.

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Acknowledgments

This project is supported by the Advanced Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (AMCRC), funded through the Australian Government's Cooperative Research Centre Scheme. The authors would also like to acknowledge Bellmont Nominees and the Victorian Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing (VCAMM) for supporting this work and the assistance of Mr August Deveth with the manufacture of the laminates.

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  1. Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Locked Bag 20000, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia

    M. L. de Souza & B.L. Fox

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  1. M. L. de Souza
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  2. B.L. Fox
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Correspondence to M. L. de Souza.

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de Souza, M.L., Fox, B. The Surface Finish of Thermally Aged Carbon Fibre Reinforced Composites Using E-glass as a Surface Barrier. Appl Compos Mater 22, 573–582 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10443-014-9424-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10443-014-9424-1

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