Page 10 - Engineered Interfaces in Fiber Reinforced Composites

PREFACE

The study and application of composite materials are a truly interdisciplinary
endeavor that has been enriched by contributions from chemistry, physics, materials
scicncc, mcchanics and manufacturing cnginecring. The undcrstanding of thc
interface (or interphase) in composites is the central point of this interdisciplinary
effort. From the early development of composite materials of various nature, the
optimization of the interface has been of major importance. While there are many
reference books available on composite materials, few of them deal specifically with
the science and mechanics of the interface of fiber reinforced composites. Further,
many recent advances devoted solely to research in composite interfaces are
scattered in different published literature and have yet to be assembled in a readily
accessible form. To this end this book is an attempt to bring together recent
developments in the field, both from the materials science and mechanics
perspective, in a single convenient volume.
The central theme of this book is tailoring the interface properties to optimize the
mechanical performance and structural integrity of composites with enhanced
strength/stiffness and fracture toughness (or specific fracture resistance). It deals
mainly with interfaces in advanced composites made from high performance fibers,
such as glass, carbon, aramid, ultrahigh modulus polyethylene and some inorganic
(e.g. B/W, A1203, Sic) fibers, and matrix materials encompassing polymers, metals/
alloys and ceramics. The book is intended to provide a comprehensive treatment of
composite interfaces in such a way that it should be of interest to materials scientists,
technologists and practising engineers, as well as graduate students and their
supervisors in advanced composites. We hope that this book will also serve as a
valuable source of reference to all those involved in the design and research of
composite interfaces.
The book contains eight chapters of discussions on microstructure-property
relationships with underlying fundamental mechanics principles. In Chapter 1, an
introduction is given to the nature and definition of interfaces in fiber reinforced
composites. Chapter 2 is devoted to the mechanisms of adhesion which are specific
to each fiber-matrix system, and the physico-chemical characterization of the
interface with regard to the origin of adhesion. The experimental techniques that
have been developed to assess the fiber-matrix interface bond quality on a
microscopic scale are presented in Chapter 3, along with the techniques of
measuring interlaminar/intralaminar strengths and fracture toughness using bulk
composite laminates. The applicability and limitations associated with loading
geometry and interpretation of test data are compared. Chapter 4 presents
comprehensive theoretical analyses based on shear-lag models of' the single fiber
composite tests, with particular emphasis being placed on the interface debond

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