Hygric characterization of woven glass/epoxy composites

Hygric behavior of woven glass/epoxy composites is investigated by characterizing them using a novel experimental technique calledhunch-up technique. Based on one-dimensional diffusion theory, the through-thickness distribution of moisture concentration is derived and experimentally predicted for a laminate exposed to water. A procedure is prescribed to determine average axial hygric strain from the measured hunch-up distance of an axially constrained specimen exposed to water. The experimental results show that the hunch-up distance is extremely sensitive to moisture expansion. There results also give excellent confirmation to the theoretical predictions. An error analysis reveals that the hunch-up technique can reduce errors by an order of magnitude better than traditional measurement techniques.