Is blister formation in GRP yet understood?

Thread by Marcel Dekker on 19 Mar 2010 at 15:13:25 
50 years of contract research, water absorption profiles in GRP with glass veils, CSM, woven roving, glass fibre sizings hocus spocus, temperature gradients, stress and strains pictures of cylindrical laminates, and numerous FEM simulations further, the one million dollar question with GRP and (I suppose Bio composite materials) still is:

Is blister formation in fibre reinforced materials yet understood?

Marcel

    Comment by Karin Walker on 24 Mar 2010 at 10:08:48  | |responses: 0|
    Good question, my quess is still no. Here some stuff from 2005, very probably not much has changed since then: Professor James Williams of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a composites expert, suggests that repeated journeys (of aerospace composites) to and from the sub-zero temperatures found at cruising altitude causes a build-up of condensation inside composites, and separation of the carbon fibre layers as this moisture freezes and thaws. According to Williams, "like a pothole in a roadway in winter, over time these gaps may grow".

    Read more in this article:Composite Troubles in Aircraft by David Pascoe

    Karin