Page 11 - Engineered Interfaces in Fiber Reinforced Composites

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VI11 Preface
process and the nature of the fiber-matrix interface bonding. Chapter 5 is devoted to
reviewing current techniques of fiber surface treatments which have been devised to
improve the bond strength and the fiber-matrix compatibility/stability during the
manufacturing processes of composites. The microfailure mechanisms and their
associated theories of fracture toughness of composites are discussed in Chapter 6.
The role of the interface and its effects on the mechanical performance of fiber
composites are addressed from several viewpoints. Recent research efforts to
augment the transverse and interlaminar fracture toughness by means of controlled
interfaces are presented in Chapters 7 and 8. Three concepts of engineered interfaces
are put forward to explain the results obtained from fiber coatings. Among those
with special interest from the composite designer’s perspective are the effects of
residual stresses arising from differential shrinkage between the composite
constituents, tough matrix materials, interleaves as delamination arresters and
three-dimensional fiber preforms.
We are grateful for assistance from many sources in the preparation of this book.
We acknowledge the invaluable contributions of many individuals with whom we
had the privilege and delight to work together: in particular the past and present
colleagues at the University of Sydney and the Hong Kong University of Science &
Technology, including C.A. Baillie, F. Castino, B. Cotterell, K.A. Dransfield, S.L.
Gao, Y.C. Gao, M.I. Hakeem, B.J. Kennedy, M.G. Lau, L.M. Leung, H.Y. Liu, R.
Lord, I.M. Low, S.V. Lu, D.B. Mackay, L. Ye and L.M. Zhou. The generous
financial support provided by many organizations, most notably the Australian
Research Council and the Hong Kong Research Grant Council, for performing the
research recorded in this book is greatly appreciated. Thanks are also due to all
those who have allowed us to reproduce photographs and diagrams from their
published work and to their publishers for the permission to use them.
Special thanks are also due to our technical writer Dr. Virginia Unkefer of the
Hong Kong University of Science & Technology for her help without which this
book would never have eventuated. Finally, we can never thank sufficiently our
family members, Hyang and Jong-Rin Kim, and Louisa Mai, for their patience and
understanding of our pressure to undertake and complete such a time-consuming
task.

Jang-Kyo Kim Yiu- Wing Mai
Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong Sydney, Australia
May 1997 May 1997