Effect of interphase region on the elastic behavior of unidirectional glass-fiber/epoxy composites

A numerical/experimental comparison is made in order to validate the model. The thickness and the modulus of the interphase have been determined by experimental measurements based on Atomic Force Microscopy and introduced in the numerical simulation, the effect of these properties as well as the effect of the interphase Poisson's ratio, on the effective elastic properties of the composite is discussed. The obtained results are in good agreement with the experimental values previously measured by tensile test on macroscopic samples. The fact of considering the interphase improves the accuracy of the prediction of the composite's mechanical elastic behavior.