Abstract: | A model is proposed for the diffusion mechanism of water in glassy epoxy resins. The polymer network is assumed to consist of two regions in which water molecules possess different mobilities. By considering the distribution of water molecules among these regions it is possible to describe the concentration dependency of the diffusion coefficient in the sorption and resorption processes. The diffusion coefficient becomes constant when the sorption temperature is close to the effective glass transition temperature of the epoxy-water binary mixture. An explanation of this effect is also provided by the model. |