Hydrothermal aging of short glass fiber reinforced polyphenylene sulfide composites and property prediction

•The Fickian law is a good fit for the water adsorption behavior of PPS/GF composites.•The mechanism of hydrothermal aging of PPS/GF composites was revealed by discussing matrix, fiber and interface.•The strength retention rate of hydrothermal aging of PPS/GF composites was predicted using the Arrhenius formula-based analytical model at different temperatures. In this paper, hydrothermal aging behavior of short-cut glass fiber reinforced polyphenylene sulfide composites (PPS/GF) were studied. The water adsorption behavior can be well described by Fickian law and have strong correlation with mechanical properties. The microbond test joint with morphology observation by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and separate evaluation about matrix, fiber and interface unveil that the mechanism of hydrothermal aging of PPS/GF composites and deterioration of interface play the dominant role in degradation of macroscopic mechanical properties. Finally, the life and mechanical properties prediction model of the hydrothermal aged PPS/GF composites were established based on the collected aging data and Arrhenius formula.