Open Access

ARTICLE

Thermal Cycling Degradation of T650 Carbon Fiber/PT-30 Cyanate Ester Composite

Huanchun Chen¹, Kunigal Shivakumar¹

1 Center for Composite Materials Research, Department of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering, North Carolina, A&T State University. E-mail: kunigal@ncat.edu

Computers, Materials & Continua 2008, 8(1), 33-42. https://doi.org/10.3970/cmc.2008.008.033

Abstract

Thermal cycling degradation effect on tensile and flexural properties of Cytec T650 carbon/Lonza Primaset PT-30 cyanate ester composite rods used for gas turbine engine brush seals was evaluated. The composite rods were thermal cycled in air from room temperature to 315°C for 100, 200, 400, 600 and 800 cycles. Each thermal cycle is a one hour period with 28 minutes hold at peak temperature and a high heating/cooling rate of 73°C/min. The composite withstood the first 100 thermal cycles with less than 10% property change. After that, tensile strength and fracture strain as well as flexural modulus were gradually reduced. Residual properties of the composite rods are expressed in simple equations as a function of the number of thermal cycles. Thermal cycling increased the T_g of the composite rods from 408°C to 468°C. Microcracks, fiber/matrix debonding and matrix loss were observed in the thermal cycled composite rods and are the main reasons for the property degradation. Weight loss study demonstrated loss of material due to matrix degradation.

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