Investigation of flexural strength of vycor glass/silicone composites under high temperature

The effect of temperature on flexural strength of vycor glass/silicone composites was studied. The results show that the flexural strength decreased with the increasing of the temperature. And there were three dramatical decrease zones existed between 200°C, 300°C and 600°C. The structure of methyl-phenyl silicone resin at different temperatures was characterized by FT-IR spectrum. The thermostability of the matrix was investigated by using thermogravinetry. The thermodynamic parameters of composites at different temperatures were measured by dynamic mechanical analysis equipment. Meanwhile the morphologies of the flexural fracture surfaces of composites under different temperatures were characterized using SEM. All of the results show that the glass transition, the degradation and pyrolysis of the resin are the main reason that the flexural strength decreased.