Abstract
One of composite materials used in plumbing is the resin reinforced fiberglass or carbon. The most common applications in the field, refers to fluid storage tanks, piping, tubing, and given that storage tanks used in water supply systems are used to the action of the natural environment, the work deals with issues related to the influence of the external environment on behaviour in time of the composite material of a water storage tank. There are comparatively analyzed two sets of samples with 25-30% of reinforcement, made of 601 general used polyester resin reinforced with fiberglass, CSM 225, CSM 450 and Tesutino 300. The first set of samples was taken from a tank made in 2002 and exposed to the action of the external environment for 10 years. The second sets of samples was taken from a manufactured material in 2014. The research consists in determination of tensile strength after exposure period. By evaluating the tensile strength of the two sets of samples, there is comparatively analyzed the influence of the external environment on the material resistance degradation to the cumulative action of the following factors: UV, snow, rain, dust, wind. The study provides data on setting life of use of the stationary storage tanks, in safe conditions. Keywords: composite materials, tensile strength, stress, strain, storage tank