Effect of fiber surface modification on water absorption and hydrothermal aging behaviors of GF/pCBT composites

Water absorption and aging behaviors of fiber reinforced polymerized poly (cyclic butylene terephthalate) (GF/pCBT) composites are investigated. We coated nano-silica on glass fiber surface by physical vapor deposition (PVD) method. Subsequently, we immersed pCBT composites reinforced with nano-treated/untreated fibers in 25 °C and 60 °C distilled water until their saturated moisture. We also exposed some specimens in various hydrothermal aging environments. We tested the mechanical performance of these test specimens and found that the mechanical performance of both pCBT cast and GF/pCBT composites reduces obviously after water absorption and hydrothermal aging. However, nano-silica modified fiber reinforced composites have higher remaining strength than GF/pCBT. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) is used to study the microscopic phase and nanoparticle modified mechanism, and better interface characteristic between fibers and matrix is observed.