A new lifetime prediction model of carbon fibre-reinforced epoxy resin (CFRP) under hygrothermal conditions

Carbon fibre-reinforced epoxy polymers (CFRPs) have a wide range of applications owing to their excellent performance. However, predicting their service life under complex and variable environmental conditions remains a significant challenge. This study proposes a novel aging mechanism based lifetime-prediction model for CFRP under hygrothermal conditions. This model is composed of environmental condition equation , aging status function , and performance-time function ( P-t function ), and is established based on the generation rate of the typical degradation product, CO₂. The environmental condition equation reflects the response of the CO₂ generation rate to temperature and humidity. The performance-time equation shows that the mechanical properties deteriorate with aging time. The aging status function shows the correlation between the CO₂ generation rate and mechanical properties. Therefore, this lifetime-prediction model can predict the deterioration of the mechanical properties of CFRP with aging time under different temperatures and humidities. Using the same strategy, this method can be extended from hygrothermal environments to more complex and diverse environmental conditions.