Interfacial adhesion between fiber and matrix has a strong influence on composite mechanical performance: better interfacial adhesion can enhance composite transverse properties, flexural properties, and interlaminar shear strength, and so on. To exploit the reinforcement potential of the fibers in advanced composite, it is necessary to reach a deeper understanding on the relation between fiber wettability and interfacial adhesion. In our experiment, we study the influence of fiber wettability on interfacial properties of fiber/PPESK composites by choosing three kinds of fibers with different wettabilities. The relation between fiber wettability and surface free energy was discussed, and the influence of fiber wettability on the interfacial property of fiber/PPESK composites was analyzed. Results indicate that higher surface free energy can enhance the wettability between fiber and matrix, and the humid resistance and interfacial adhesion can be improved at the same time.

No abstract

Interfacial adhesion between fiber and matrix has a strong influence on composite mechanical performance. To exploit the reinforcement potential of the fibers in advance composite, it is necessary to reach a deeper understanding on the relation between fiber surface treatment and interfacial adhesion. In this study, air plasma was applied to modify carbon fiber (CF) surface, and the capability of plasma grafting for improving the interfacial adhesion in CF/thermoplastic composite was discussed and also the mechanism for composite interfacial adhesion was analyzed. Results indicated that air plasma treatment was capable of increasing surface roughness as well as introducing surface polar groups onto CF; both chemical bonding and mechanical interaction were efficient in enhancements of interlaminate shear strength of CF/PPESK composite, while mechanical interaction has a dominant effect on composite interfacial adhesion than chemical bonding interaction.