Accelerated Hygrothermal Aging of an Epoxy Barrier Coating: Correlating Laboratory Degradation with Performance
- 1KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Abstract
This study investigates the hygrothermal aging behavior of a commercial an epoxy barrier coating. The coating was subjected to water immersion and dry-heat exposure at 20–80 °C for up to 14 months, and changes in water uptake, tensile properties, and thermal transitions were monitored by gravimetric measurements, tensile testing, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). After two months, combined water and elevated-temperature exposure produced larger reductions in tensile modulus and strength than dry aging, while drying substantially restored the mechanical properties. This indicates that moisture-induced plasticization and swelling account for a major fraction of the early property loss. Longer exposure produced more severe mechanical deterioration, and at 60 °C the material continued to gain mass for up to eight months before subsequent weight loss, consistent with a transition from predominantly diffusioncontrolled water uptake toward degradation-associated behavior. In contrast, DMA and DSC glass-transition temperatures varied only modestly with aging temperature. The results show that mechanical measurements provide a more sensitive indicator of hygrothermal performance than Tg alone for this coating. The study provides material-level evidence relevant to the assessment of rubber-toughened epoxy barrier coatings under combined heat and moisture exposure.
Related
- In situ multiscale XCT degradation study of PEO-modified WE43 scaffolds: Correlating microstructure with hydrogen evolution
- Defect-engineered BT-based ceramics: correlating phase coexistence, electrocaloric response and energy storage performance via Fe and Mn substitution.
- Experimental assessment of efficiency degradation and corrosion behavior of centrifugal pumps under laboratory-controlled high-salinity conditions
- Machine Learning-Assisted Analysis of Chloride-Enhanced BiOCl/DSA Anode for Synergistic Denitrification and Tetracycline Degradation: Performance, Mechanisms, and Product Regulation
- Effect of Wood and Non-Wood Pulp Fiber Morphology on Laboratory-Simulated Tissue Paper Creping Performance: Functional Properties and Explainable AI
BibTeX
@misc{kharazmi2026accelerated,
title = {{Accelerated Hygrothermal Aging of an Epoxy Barrier Coating: Correlating Laboratory Degradation with Performance}},
author = {Parastou Kharazmi},
howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15009241/v1},
url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009241/v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Accelerated Hygrothermal Aging of an Epoxy Barrier Coating: Correlating Laboratory Degradation with Performance
AU - Parastou Kharazmi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/22
PB - ChemRxiv
DO - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15009241/v1
UR - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009241/v1
AB - This study investigates the hygrothermal aging behavior of a commercial an epoxy barrier coating. The coating was subjected to water immersion and dry-heat exposure at 20–80 °C for up to 14 months, and changes in water uptake, tensile properties, and thermal transitions were monitored by gravimetric measurements, tensile testing, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). After two months, combined water and elevated-temperature exposure produced larger reductions in tensile modulus and strength than dry aging, while drying substantially restored the mechanical properties. This indicates that moisture-induced plasticization and swelling account for a major fraction of the early property loss. Longer exposure produced more severe mechanical deterioration, and at 60 °C the material continued to gain mass for up to eight months before subsequent weight loss, consistent with a transition from predominantly diffusioncontrolled water uptake toward degradation-associated behavior. In contrast, DMA and DSC glass-transition temperatures varied only modestly with aging temperature. The results show that mechanical measurements provide a more sensitive indicator of hygrothermal performance than Tg alone for this coating. The study provides material-level evidence relevant to the assessment of rubber-toughened epoxy barrier coatings under combined heat and moisture exposure.
ER -