Creep rupture of a GFRP composite at elevated temperatures

A study of the tension and compression behavior of glass-fiber reinforced polyester composite material under sustained loads and elevated temperature is presented. Time-dependent thermal deformation and failure stresses were measured at three different temperatures (T=25, 50, and 80°C). Using curve-fitting equations a simple empirical model was developed to predict the time-to-failure. The model takes into account superposition of time–temperature effects. Creep curves predicted by this model are similar to those reported in literature.