Preparation of electroless copper coated glass fiber and piezoresistive properties of copper coated glass fiber reinforced plastics

Metallized glass fibers have the excellent electric conductivity and low price compared with carbon fibers. Metallized glass fibers were fabricated by coating copper on the surface using different processing technologies and the effects of processing technology on the properties of copper coated glass fibers were discussed. By hand laying up molding, metallized glass fiber reinforced plastic (MGFRP) with good dispersion and interfacial cohesion was prepared successfully. The piezoresistive properties of MGFRP were compared with those of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFPR). The results show that copper coated on glass fibers with volume resistivity of 10−5 Ω·cm have the good electrical conductivity and cohesion between two phases through optimizing the pretreatment technology of glass fibers and the formula of chemical plating solution. MGFRP has the distinct and similar piezoresistive characteristics with CFRP and exhibits the better piezoresistive sensitivity to fracture.