Mehdi Saeed Kiasat - Assistant professor, Faculty of Marine Technology Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

Epoxy compounds are thermosetting polymers used as composite matrices or as adhesive materials in various applications like in marine structures. This work is dedicated to the temperature-dependent creep behavior of an epoxy compound which is an important issue in structural design. Isothermal one-day creep experiments are performed at various temperatures ranging from 24.5°C to 175°C (above the glass transition temperature of the compound). Significant creep behavior of the epoxy compound is observed even at room temperature. The tensile creep compliance and the increasing timedependent Poisson’s ratio of the material at different temperatures are rather successfully used to construct viscoelastic master curves for these material properties. It is observed that the shift factor of the compound cannot be fitted by the known WLF equation. Further, the viscoelastic model of the material is implemented in a finite element program, and the model is verified by means of the results of a creep test that is performed at a non-isothermal condition.

Epoxy compound, Temperature-dependent creep, Creep compliance, Viscoelastic master curve