Long-term Thermo-oxidative Degradation Modeling of a Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polyimide Composite:Multistep Degradation Behaviors and Kinetics

This study aims to disclose the thermo-oxidative degradation behaviors and kinetics of a carbon fiber reinforced polyimide(CFRPI)composite for modeling of the Iong-term degradation process.The degradation behaviors were revealed through off-gas products analysis,and the overall kinetic interpretation was achieved from study of the mass-loss curves recorded under dynamic conditions.It was found that thermooxidative degradati on of the CFRPI composite was a multistep process,which in eluded four main reaction steps.Since most kinetic an alysis methods were derived from simple reactions described by a single kinetic triplet,they cannot be applied reliably to such a process.Therefore,we firstly separated the four overlapped reaction steps by peak fitting of derivative thermogravimetric curves using Fraser-Suzuki equation consider!ng the asymmetrical n ature of kin etic curves,and subsequently an a lyzed each in dividual reaction employing Friedma n method and experimental master-plots method.Four sets of kinetic triplets were determined to characterize the entire degradation process.The validity of four corresponding kinetic triplets was confirmed by perfect simulation of mass-loss curves recorded at both dynamic conditions used in kinetic analysis and entirely different isothermal conditions.Finally,modeling of Iong-term aging at 400°C of the CFRPI composite was successfully achieved based on these kinetic triplets.The predicted mass loss and flexural property correlated well with experimental results.This study can serve as a basis for rapid evaluation of the long-term durability of the CFRPI composite in various application environments.