shown in Fig. 5d. This is due to the fact that UV produces microcracks
on the surface of the laminates, providing passages for moisture
penetration into composite laminates. Fig. 5e shows a
magnified image of the damaged area in Fig. 5d. It can be seen that
fibers completely lost their confinement with the matrix and
therefore they are not able to contribute in load transfer between
fibers and matrix, resulting in a substantial decrease in flexural
strength of specimens. Fig. 5b–e demonstrate that extensive damage
occurs in a thin layer on the laminate surface due to environmental
exposures. This significantly decreases the flexural
properties of the laminate, which is primarily dependent on the
load bearing capacity of the outer layers of the laminate. Due to
this fact, the same magnitude of decrease in flexural properties will
be expected for environmentally exposed specimens of different
thicknesses or widths.