New results on hydrolytic degradation of polyimides

Our recently published paper, “Moisture Degradation Effects on the Mechanical Properties of HFPE-II-52 Polyimide: Experiments and Modeling”, Experimental Mechanics, 2017, DOI: 10.1007/s11340-017-0281-3 is available on-line at:  http://rdcu.be/qJoG.  We find that above about 215 C the presence of moisture significantly degrades the stiffness and strength of the polyimide.  Results from this work are being combined with our prior studies to build a full hygrothermal model for polyimide and to apply the results to the blistering problem.