The Moisture Diffusion Equation for Moisture Absorption of Multiphase Symmetrical Sandwich Structures

Abstract

When hydrophilic materials (such as natural fiber, epoxy resin or concrete) compose sandwich structures, the moisture absorption from hydrothermal environments may significantly affect their mechanical properties. Although some experimental works were carried out, few mathematical efforts have been made to describe the moisture diffusion of multiphase symmetrical sandwich structures thus far. In this paper, the moisture diffusion equation was developed to effectively predict the moisture diffusion behavior of multiphase symmetrical sandwich structures as the function of aging time. Both finite element analysis (FEA) and experimental works were carried out to validate the accuracy of the analytical method, and the analytical results show a good agreement with FEA and experimental data. The effect of the interface condition on the concentration at the interfaces was discussed; the difference between concentration and normalized concentration was illustrated; the correct interface condition, which is a continuous normalized concentration condition, was explained for the moisture diffusion behavior of sandwich structures.

Keywords

• sandwich structures
• moisture diffusion equation
• normalized concentration
• multiphase