Low-temperature interlaminar shear strength of reactor irradiated glass-fibre-reinforced laminates

• Published in: Cryogenics (Guildford) 1996, Vol.36 (8), p.611-617
• Main Authors: Humer, K., Spieβberger, S., Weber, H.W., Tschegg, E.K., Gerstenberg, H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Epoxy resins; Fiber reinforced materials; fibre-reinforced plastics; Fractography; Insulating materials; interlaminar shear; Irradiation; Laminated composites; mechanical properties; Nuclear reactors; Polyimides; Radiation damage; Scanning electron microscopy; Shear strength; Superconducting magnets
• ISSN: 0011-2275; 1879-2235
• DOI: 10.1016/0011-2275(96)00027-6

Glass-fibre-reinforced plastics (GFRPs) are candidate insulating materials for superconducting magnet coils in future fusion reactors. Therefore, the influence of radiation damage (gamma and fast neutrons) especially on the interlaminar shear behaviour of these materials has to be investigated carefully. Different types of GFRP laminate (two-dimensional E- or S-glass fibre reinforcements, epoxy or polyimide resins) have been irradiated at room temperature in the TRIGA reactor (Vienna, Austria) and at 5 K in the FRM Munich (Garching, Germany) up to a neutron fluence of 5 × 10 22m −2 ( E > 0.1 MeV) prior to short-beam-shear (SBS) testing at 77 K. After low-temperature irradiation, half of the samples were subjected to a warm-up cycle to room temperature before testing at 77 K. Results on the influence of different radiation sources, irradiation temperatures and annealing cycles as well as the boron content of some laminates on the interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) are compared and discussed, together with microstructural observations made with a scanning electron microscope.