Evaluation of the environmental aging of the glass fiber-reinforced polymer composite when in contact with the effluent of a treatment plant

This paper presents an evaluation of the mechanical and physical behavior of the type E glass fiber-reinforced polymeric composite when exposed to environmental aging agents in an effluent treatment plant. The composite was made by the hand layup process, and the test bodies were made according to the American Society for Testing and Materials standards D3039-14 and D790-10 for the uniaxial tensile and three-point bending tests, respectively, where they were exposed for a period of eight months, conditioned above and immersed in the effluent of the treatment plant. The physicochemical characterization of the effluent was evaluated considering the following parameters: pH, conductivity, sulfate, alkalinity, acidity, sulfide, and temperature, aiming to characterize the effluent conditions in direct and indirect contact with the composite. After the exposure period, tests were carried out for morphological evaluation, structural integrity evaluation, mechanical performance evaluation, and fracture characterization of the polymer composite, thereby leading to a comparison of the mechanical characteristics in the original state to that of the aged state (after exposure in the effluent treatment plant). The polymeric composite studied was stable after the aging period, with little mass variation, less than 0.5%, and slight changes in color. The mechanical properties evaluated also did not change significantly during the study period. Variations in uniaxial tensile strength were less than 1.4% and for three-point bending less than 10%, thus showing that the type E glass fiber-reinforced polymer composite has potential for use in harsh environments such as in effluent treatment plants.