Experimental results of increasing the bending strength of construction glass after microwave radiation exposure

Abstract

The analysis of the scientific and technical literature and trends in the development of transport and energy technology showed that advanced plastic complexes and fiberglass plastics are widely used in promising aviation complexes and ground-based robotic complexes for various purposes. The promising point of application of the effects of microwave radiation (microwave electromagnetic field) on the formation of enhanced strength properties of products made of glass-reinforced plastics, especially in terms of bending stresses and interlayer shear, is shown. Experimental studies of the effect of microwave electromagnetic field with a frequency of 2450 MHz on the microstructure of hardened laminated fiberglass and their flexural strength have been performed. A 60% increase in the flexural strength of the samples was achieved after exposure to microwave radiation of an average power level for 2 minutes compared to the control ones. With shorter and longer time of processing, the increase of strength was less pronounced. The reason of hardening is an increase of the solidity of the structure by increasing the contact points of the matrix and fibers during the formation of the characteristic “star” structures. The fact of embrittlement of samples processed at maximum radiation power with an increase in exposure time was revealed.