Comparative degradation of pultruded E‐glass/vinylester in deionized water, alkaline solution, and concrete leachate solution

Abstract

The use of E‐glass/vinylester composites, fabricated by processes such as resin infusion and pultrusion involving low‐moderate temperature cure regimes, in civil infrastructure applications is increasing. A major consideration in these applications is long‐term durability in the presence of aqueous solutions ranging from water to alkaline environments such as would be seen from pore water of concrete in the case of a reinforcing bar in concrete, or from an alkaline rich concrete leachate due to water migrating through porous concrete to the surface of a composite overlay. This study characterizes mass uptake, tensile, and interlaminar shear response of a pultruded E‐glass/vinylester immersed in deionized water, alkali solution, and concrete leachate solution for periods up to 75 weeks. The high pH solutions are seen to cause a greater degree of irreversible damage at the resin, interface, and fiber levels. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 99: 1405–1414, 2006