A Study of Aging Effect for Train Carbody Using Accelerated Aging Tester

The long-tenn exposure of polymeric composite materials to extreme-use environments, such as pressure, temperature, moisture, and load cycles, results in changes in the original properties of the material. In this study, the effect of combined environmental factors such as ultraviolet ray, high temperature and high moisture on mechanical and thermal analysis properties of glass fabric and phenolic composites are evaluated through a 2.5 KW accelerated environmental aging tester. The environmental factors such as temperature, moisture and ultraviolet ray applied of specimens. A xenon-arc lamp is utilized for ultraviolet light and exposure time of up to 3000 hours are applied. Several types of specimens - tensile, bending, and shear specimens that are warp direction and fill direction are used to investigate the effects of environmental factors on mechanical properties of the composites. Mechanical degradations for tensile, bending and shear properties are evaluated through a Universal Testing Machine (UTM). Also, storage shear modulus, loss shear modulus and tan a are measured as a function of exposure time through a Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer (DMA). From the experimental results, changes in material properties of glass fabric and phenolic composites are shown to be slightly degraded due to combined environmental effects.