The Effect of Plasma Treatment on Interfacial Bond Characteristics of Kevlar/Epoxy Laminates as Measured by T-Peel Tests

Abstract

Composite materials are used in a wide variety of applications where their anisotropic properties allow the material to be tailored for each application. Unfortunately, aramid fiber composites may have limited applications due to poor transverse properties. These poor transverse properties are the result of weak interfacial bonding. Improvement of the interfacial bond strength has been an area of active research. Plasma treatment is one method that can be used to modify the surface of a fiber in an effort to improve the fiber-matrix adhesion. in this study, Kevlar/epoxy laminates were peel-tested (T-peel) to study the effect of plasma treatment on the interfacial properties. The T-peel results indicate that ammonia plasma treatment improves the interfacial bond strength of Keviar/epoxy composites, increasing the T-peel strengths by approximately 30%.... Composite materials, Epoxy composites, Kevlar fibers, Adhesion, Plasma treatment, T-peel

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 1993
Accession Number
ADA266920

Entities

People

  • Joey Mead
  • Rachel A. Michaud

Organizations

  • United States Army Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Adhesion
  • Aramid Fibers
  • Bonding
  • Composite Materials
  • Engineering
  • Epoxy Composites
  • Epoxy Laminates
  • Fibers
  • Information Processing
  • Laminates
  • Materials
  • Materials Laboratories
  • Materials Science
  • Materials Testing
  • Mechanical Properties
  • Military Research
  • Peel Strength

Fields of Study

  • Materials science

Readers

  • Reinforced Composite Materials
  • Surface Coatings Technology.