An investigation of glass–fiber reinforced polyamide 66 during conditioning in various automotive fluids

Abstract Injection molded glass–fiber reinforced polyamide 66 composites and unreinforced polymer samples have been characterized during conditioning up to 900 h in water, ethylene glycol, and water–glycol mixture at 50 and 70°C. All materials showed significant fluid and temperature‐dependent weight and volume increase. Glass reinforcement significantly reduced the polymer fluid uptake. The absorption of the antifreeze mixture initially follows a simple rule of mixtures of the absorption of the two individual components. However, after absorption of ∼5% a significantly higher than predicted level of antifreeze absorption was observed. This coincided with a significant increase in the volumetric swelling coefficient. Dynamic mechanical analysis and unnotched impact testing indicated significant changes in composite mechanical performance dependent on conditioning fluid and temperature. POLYM. COMPOS., 2011. © 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers