Durability of Glass-fiber-reinforced Polymer Composites in an Alkaline Environment

This study investigated the aging of urethane modified vinyl ester (UMVE) and urethane GFRP (glass fiber reinforced polymer) when exposed to alkaline solution. Samples from both composites were exposed to alkaline solution with sustained load for six months. The sustained load on each sample was approximately 34.5 MPa or 16--20 percent of their tensile strength. The second experiment exposed both types of GFRP to alkaline solution without load for six months. The final experiment determined the alkaline solution diffusion coefficients through each GFRP polymer by measuring the change in mass of each sample as a function of time.