Effect of Salt Spray Aging on the Mechanical Performance of Triaxial Glass Fabric Reinforced Poly (Methyl Methacrylate) Composites

ABSTRACT The growing volume of retired blades, predominantly manufactured from epoxy‐based composites, poses significant environmental challenges due to their inherent resistance to degradation and limited recyclability. Given the extensive application of triaxial glass fabric (TGF) in wind turbine blade roots and surfaces, a recyclable poly(methyl methacrylate)/triaxial glass fabric (PMMA/TGF) was fabricated. In order to acquire the preferable mechanical performance, the formulation of the cured resin was optimized using machine learning methods, with the optimal resin ratio: PMMA 23.76 wt%, BPO 1.01 mol%, and DMA 0.79 mol%. The PMMA/TGF composite fabricated with the optimal resin shows 0° tensile strength of 510.0 MPa, 90° tensile strength of 144.1 MPa, and short‐beam shear strength of 57.7 MPa, which are 7.46%, 5.71%, and 19.21% higher than the epoxy/TGF composite, respectively. After 720 h accelerated salt spray aging test, the 0° tensile strength of the PMMA/TGF composite decreases from 510.0 to 488.5 MPa (by 4.22%), the 90° tensile strength drops from 144.1 to 125.2 MPa (by 13.1%), and the short‐beam shear strength declines from 57.7 to 45.4 MPa (by 21.32%). SEM reveals that salt spray causes fiber‐matrix interface separation, and the degradation follows the sequence of pitting, resin detachment, and fiber fracture.