Abstract
Effect of interfacial adhesion on the flexural strength of an epoxy resin filled with spherical silica particles was investigated. There were used five kinds of spherical silica particles having different mean sizes in the range from 2 to 30 mm. The particle content in the resin was 50% by weight. In order to prepare the well and poorly bonded interfaces between the particle and matrix, the particles were treated with silane coupling and decoupling agents, respectively. Both of the treated-particle-filled resins were compared with the untreated-particle-filled one. The flexural strength was higher in the following order : well-bonded > poorly bonded > untreated. From the scanning electron microscopic observation of fractured resin surfaces, the fracture strength of particle-filled brittle resin was found to be affected by the number and sharpness of defects in the material derived from the particle fracture or interfacial debonding.
