Experimental study of the propagation of delamination under oxidizing environment and mechanical loading
Résumé
Oxidation of the polymer plays a crucial role in the degradation of composites in high temperature applications. Even in the absence of external mechanical loads, cracks can develop and allow the oxygen to penetrate deep into the composite. A new experimental method, allowing oxidation-driven crack propagation under different external mechanical loads, is proposed here to gain some insight on the chemo-mechanical coupled behavior of polymer matrix composites.