Solid Particle Erosion Behavior of FRP Degraded by Hot Water

Experiments were carried out to study solid particle erosion behavior of an FRP degraded by hot water. The FRP used was unsaturated polyester resin reinforced by chopped glass strand mats. The test specimens were soaked in hot water of 80°C and the degraded test specimens were used in the erosion tests. The Vickers hardness of a resin rich area in the FRP was measured and the interlaminar shear strength of the FRP was obtained from short beam three-point bending tests. According to these test data, the resin became soft and the interface between the matrix resin and fiber was weakened due to degradation by hot water. It is found from the erosion test data that the erosion behavior of the degraded FRP is affected both by decreasing hardness of the matrix resin which results in decreasing the erosion rate and by decreasing the interfacial strength between the matrix resin and fiber which results in increasing the erosion rate.