Degradation and Failure Modes of Carbon/Bismaleimide Laminates Subjected to a Tropical Exposure

Abstract

A scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to characterize the degradation of the outermost layers of carbon/bismaleimide laminates as the result of exposure to a natural tropical environment. The surface that was exposed to the sun for 4000 hours suffered complete degradation of the bismaleimide matrix to a shallow depth. SEM fractography showed little difference in the appearance of the fibers in a carbon/bismaleimide laminate, which displayed considerable fiber pullout compared to fibers in a carbon/epoxy laminate, which displayed little pullout.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1992
Accession Number
ADA256328

Entities

People

  • A. A. Kapusta
  • John H. Underwood

Organizations

  • United States Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Composite Materials
  • Degradation
  • Electron Microscopes
  • Electron Microscopy
  • Electrons
  • Engineering
  • Epoxy Laminates
  • Failure Mode And Effect Analysis
  • Flexural Strength
  • Fractography
  • Laminates
  • Materials
  • Materials Science
  • Microscopes
  • Military Research
  • Scanning Electron Microscopes
  • Security

Readers

  • Reinforced Composite Materials
  • Structural Health Monitoring of Composite Structures.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics