Heat-damage assessment of carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer composites by diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy

Diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) spectroscopy was used to assess the effects of heat damage on carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer composites. Moisture-saturated graphite-epoxy laminates with a quasi-isotropic lay-up were heat-damaged above their upper service temperatures. The loss of matrix-dominated mechanical properties due to heat exposure was investigated in the laboratory under environmental testing conditions with mechanical tests, ultrasonic C-scanning, and DRIFT spectroscopy. The reduction of the mechanical strength of the composite materials was accompanied by an increase in the carbonyl band integral and a decrease in the phenyl ratio and hydroxyl and hydrocarbon band integrals, as shown by the DRIFT spectra. DRIFT was confirmed to be more effective than ultrasonic inspection in evaluating the extent of heat damage, and a good correlation was found between the mechanical test results and DRIFT spectra. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

EOS AT CW BEAM OPERATION AT ELBE

Abstract The ELBE accelerator is a super conduction electron cw machine located at the Helmholtz Center Dresden Rossendorf Germany with 1 mA current, now tested for up to 2 mA. Besides other important diagnostics for setting up the machine for user beam time and further improvement of the machine -a THz source is momentary under commissioning -a EOS measuring station for bunch length measurements is locate right behind the second super conducting Linac. Measuring with a crystal in the vicinity of an up to 2 mA cw beam implies higher beam loss and also higher radiation exposure of the crystal and hence also a safety risk for the UHV conditions of the super conducting cavities in the case of crystal damage. Therefore the EOS measuring principle is adapted to larger measuring distances and also for beam requirements with lower bunch charge at ELBE. A description of the setup, considerations of special boundary conditions and as well results for 13 MHz cw beam operation are presented.

Bonding to aged surfaces: A thermally-aged epoxy

It is common experience that aged surfaces are often difficult to bond to. We report an examination of bonding to thermally-aged epoxy surfaces, using as the adhesive the same epoxy as that of the aged surface. The cured and postcured epoxy was aged at 200 ° C, with the ageing time varying from 2 to 8 h. The fracture energy of the bond line was measured by mode I cleavage under conditions of relatively slow crack growth. The bondline fracture energy was found to decrease logarithmically with ageing time. The fracture energies for bonds to surfaces aged for 2, 4, and 8 h at 200 ° C were 0.077, 0.059, and 0.050 kJ M −2 , respectively. These compare to 0.13 kJ M −2 for a bond to an unaged surface and 0.21 kJ m −2 for bulk fracture. Fracture surfaces resulting from both slow and rapid fracture were examined by optical and scanning electron microscopy. Fracture features different from those arising from bulk fracture were found. Areas with ‘good’ adhesion occurred amidst fields of featureless fracture surface; the frequency and size of these areas decreased with increased ageing time. Evidence of plastic deformation was found, always occurring on the new side of the bond: ridges parallel with crack propagation at high crack speeds and subsurface undulations perpendicular to crack propagation at low speeds. The bond has the effect of channelling the crack along the bondline, but fracture does not always remain exactly at the interface. Fracture often occurred a relatively constant distance away from the interface, suggesting that the presence of the interface was felt for some distance.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44698/1/10853_2004_Article_BF00584867.pd