Fracture Criterion of Glass Fiber : Epoxy Interface unsing Model Composite

Abstract

The measured values of interfacial strength much depend on the test method. One of the reason for this is the discrepancy between the actual fracture process and the applied mechanical criterion of the fracture, and the quantitative evaluation of interfacial strength has not yet been established. Couple Fiber Shear Method is a new method to evaluate the fiber/matrix interfacial strength. This model composite is composed of two filaments and one resin pocket, and is suitable for the in-situ observation in SEM. Interfacial stress was analyzed using finite element analysis including the influence of thermal stress. In the present study, the effect of fiber diameter was investigated. Experimental results were analyzed using the intensity of stress singularity, K_<ij>. The possibility of the evaluation of the interfacial strength using the parameter, K_<ij>, was discussed.