Study On Preparation And Absorption Properties Of Glass Fiber Reinforced Lightcurable EEPE Composites

In this paper, glass fiber reinforced visible light curable dimethacrylate resin composites were prepared through impregnation technique. In vitro moisture absorption tests were conducted using EEPE resin, GL/EEPE composite and G3D/EEPE composite under different conditions. Various factors, which influence moisture absorption behaviors of the composites, were studied. Furthermore, variations of the mechanical properties as a result of moisture absorption were also assessed. The results showed that the moisture absorption behaviors of these materials can be described by Fick's law. It was found that temperature, moisture absorption media, and fiber fraction have effects on moisture absorption behavior of composite, the higher fiber fraction and temperature, the higher water equilibrium uptake M∞ and diffusivity D and moisture rate K. Media exerted an effect on moisture behavior of the composites. Due to the effect of ions in PBS simulated body fluid, the water equilibrium uptake M∞, diffusivity D and moisture rate K of the composites in PBS were lower than them in distilled water. Because of the higher void content, G3D/EEPE composite possessed higher water equilibrium uptake M∞, diffusivity D and moisture rate K than GL/EEPE composite. The results indicated that moisture absorption were deleterious to the bending and shear properties of composites because of the damage of matrix and fiber-matrix interfaces. The degree of conversion of EEPE resin was also investigated, the experimental results demonstrated that the degree of conversion (CD) of EEPE resin reached 95%. No further improvement in the CD was observed when exposure time prolonged. The post-curing of EEPE resin was found to significantly increase the CD of EEPE.