Influence of CaCO3 in pultruded glass fiber/unsaturated polyester resin composite on flexural creep behavior using conventional and time-temperature superposition principle methods

The effect of calcium carbonate on the creep phenomenon of glass fiber/unsaturated polyester resin composites (GFRP) (obtained by pultrusion) was investigated due to failure that happened during installation of one of the composite transmission tower. To assess long-term creep and predict the life of composites, a conventional bending method with 45-day creep and time-temperature superposition principle (TTSP) were used. In the conventional method, the composites (with and without calcium carbonate) underwent only slight deformation. It was found that their lifetime could be 25 years. However, based on the standard curve obtained by the TTSP method, significant differences were shown in the stability of calcium carbonate composite samples at 95 degrees C (111 days) and 160 degrees C (11 days). It was found that the addition of calcium carbonate extends the service life of the tested composites. Thus, the results obtained by the conventional method do not reflect the real behavior of the samples over time. On the other hand, the TTSP method allows better estimation of the long-term durability of composites.