Abstract:
Mechanical Properties of fiber-reinforced composite structure can be improved by strengthening the interfacial bond between fiber and the matrix. It is a well known that the material fibers exhibit poor adhesion with host matrices, and many research efforts have been devoted to address this problem. Plasma and chemical surface treatment of fibers have been the two major approaches, and various degree of success has been reported using these techniques. In the present work, the surface of Kelvar fibers is chemically modified by DSC and FTIR spectroscopy. To the best of our knowledge this approach has not been previously reported. The surface modification improved the adhesion to epoxy resin by 21 %, as measured by fiber bundle pull-out technique. Optical microscope examination of morphology revealed that fiber surface roughened slightly by chemical treatment; however the fiber strength was not considerably affected. Unidirectional laminates of the fabricated composites were tested to measure the bulk mechanical properties. The specimens containing treated and untreated fibers were tested for interlaminar shear strength (ASTM D2344) and flexure properties. As a result of fiber surface treatment the composite interlaminar shear strength increased by 16% where as flexure strength remained unchanged. Dynamic mechanical and thermal analysis (DMTA) identifies that the elastic modulus of the interfacial modified composite exhibited an order of magnitude increase over its virgin counterpart. These findings may have important implications in the design of filament wound and composite structural parts for applications in the aircraft, space and industrial sectors.
Page(s):
45-60
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: Proceedings 6th International Bhurban Conference on Applied Sciences and Technology , Volume: 1, Issue: 0, Year: 2009