The corrosion of E-glass by multiple corrosive media and most significantly by strong acids has been
documented via multiple testing protocols. Bare glass weight loss in a corrosive media is often cited to
gauge the performance of various glass fiber compositions. ASTM C581 testing is used to test
composite flexural strength/modulus performance over time in a corrosive media under no stress.
Stress-corrosion testing by Greenwood plots the deterioration of composite rods over time when
exposed to both a corrosive media and multiple stress states. This paper follows the corrosion of Eglass
& Advantex® (1) E-CR glass pultruded rods visually using SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy). It
examines the corrosion via EDX (Energy Dispersive X-ray) and shows the mechanism by which 10%
sulfuric acid destroys the composite rod. The most interesting observation is that the bond strength
between resin and reinforcement is lost well before a significant percentage of glass has corroded.
Key Words: corrosion, composite, glass fiber, glass fibre, E-glass, E-CR glass, boron-free, SEM, EDX.