Composite life under sustained compression and one sided simulated fire exposure: Characterization and prediction

The structural response of continuous fiber, polymer matrix composites to fire exposure is presently of interest to the construction and marine industries. This paper addresses experimentally measured lifetime of E-glass vinyl ester composite laminates subjected to combined centric compression and one-sided simulated fire exposure. Under such conditions, these laminates (having a nearly quasi-isotropic stacking sequence) support a 10 MPa compressive stress under low heat fluxes (20–30 kW/m2) for approximately 102 s. Thermally modified micromechanics and laminate mechanics are successfully used to describe the observed life times when limited to thermal reversible effects. In these cases, the glass transition temperature controls the life the composite.