Interlaminar shear and flexural strength of fiber reinforced plastics at 77 K after room and low-temperature reactor irradiation

The mechanical properties of several glass fiber reinforced plastics (FRPs) were investigated prior to and following neutron and gamma irradiation using the short beam shear (ASTM D2344) and the three point bending test (ASTM D790). The irradiations were carried out at room temperature and at low temperature (5 K) with different reactor spectra up to a fast neutron fluence of 5x1022 m-2 (E> 0.1 MeV). The samples were measured at 77 K, those subjected to low temperature irradiation were measured before and after an annealing cycle to room temperature. Special attention was paid to the influence of the boron (n, α)-reaction on the interlaminar shear strength, which occurs in E-glass, but not in boron free S- and T-glass reinforcements