Journal of Materials Science, Vol.33, No.13, 3407-3417, 1998
Axial compressive behaviour of reinforcing fibres and interphase in glass/epoxy composite materials
Axial compressive behaviour of reinforcing fibres and interphase in glass fibre/epoxy resin composites were examined. Axial compressive strengths of glass fibres were evaluated by the tensile recoil method. The effects of silane-based coupling surface treatment agent on the fibre compressive strengths were investigated. The glass fibres showed higher compressive strengths when coated by the surface treatment. Interphase behaviour was also investigated by means of the single-fibre embedded compressive test. The particular stress and strain distributions inside the specimen were examined by a three-dimensional finite element analysis. The parameter "interfacial fransmissibility" instead of the conventional critical fibre length theory was introduced as an index of interfacial properties. This parameter was useful to estimate the interfacial properties at the elastic state apart from the complicated critical state. It was confirmed that the surface treatment improved the glass/epoxy interphase under axial compressive load.
Keywords:SINGLE-FIBER FRAGMENTATION;MODEL COMPOSITES;CARBON-FIBERS;STRESS-TRANSFER;GLASS-FIBER;INTERFACIAL PROPERTIES;TENSILE-STRENGTH;SHEAR-STRENGTH;MATRIX;POLYMER