Hygrothermal ageing characterisation of epoxy resin based on transmission characteristics of microwave resonator with interdigital‐capacitor‐shaped defected ground structure

Abstract In this article, a method is proposed for the characterisation of epoxy resin thermal and hygrothermal ageing based on microwave resonator with interdigital‐capacitor‐shaped defected ground structure (IDCS‐DGS), which can realise rapid and simple non‐destructive testing of the ageing degree of epoxy resin materials. The resonant frequency of IDCS‐DGS was proved to decrease with the increase of dielectric constant of the around material by means of simulation. The breakdown test at high voltage showed the deterioration of epoxy resin after hygrothermal ageing, which is caused by moisture absorption and hydrolysis process. In addition, thermal ageing also caused a decline in the insulation performance of epoxy resin samples. Accelerated oxidation of epoxy resin samples at high temperatures produces polar molecules that increase the dielectric constant of the samples. As for the hygrothermal ageing samples, the entrance of polar water molecules will increase the dielectric constant of epoxy resin, and thus make an effect on the resonant frequency of IDCS‐DGS. The tests of transmission performance show that after the hygrothermally aged epoxy resin samples were put on the microwave sensor, the resonant frequency decreased continuously with hygrothermal ageing time, and the deviations of resonant frequency are highly consistent with the weight variation rate of the samples