| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7892812 | Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing | 2013 | 8 Pages |
Abstract
The influence of wet aging on the behaviour of flax/epoxy micro-composites composed of single flax fibres embedded in epoxy micro-droplets has been studied. Interfacial shear strength has been examined by debonding the micro-droplets. The apparent interfacial shear strength decreases with immersion time in water, dropping rapidly during the first 15Â min of immersion then stabilizing. Drying samples after short immersion periods allows recovery of properties, indicating a plasticization mechanism. For longer immersion times irreversible degradation is observed. Scanning electron microscopy reveals fibre surface peeling, indicating that an internal interface within the fibre is weaker than the fibre/matrix interface after aging. A simple descriptive model has been used to identify diffusion kinetics, with a critical diffusion time corresponding to a change in degradation mechanism.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Materials Science
Ceramics and Composites
Authors
Antoine Le Duigou, Peter Davies, Christophe Baley,