Abstract
Abstract Thin films of polyester resin containing dispersions of completely embedded carbon fibres have been immersed in water at 100°C and 20°C, and the incidence of debonding has been investigated by means of optical retardation measurements. These measurements are compared with results obtained for ‘E’ glass fibres. Resin swelling during immersion at 100°C is sufficient to overcome prior resin shrinkage during cure, producing a net tensile stress across fibre-resin interfaces, and both carbon fibres and untreated (no coupling agent) glass fibres are rapidly debonded. Resin swelling during immersion at 20°C is insufficient to produce tensile interfacial stress, but untreated glass fibres are still rapidly debonded; carbon fibres, however, retain their interfacial bond (as do glass fibres treated with a coupling agent). This difference in behaviour at the lower temperature is attributed to the difference in chemical nature of the two types of surface, untreated glass fibres being hydrophilic and carbon fibres hydropholic.
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