Effect of Magnetic Field on Bending Strength of GFRP Prepared with Low-Temperature Plasma.

Abstract

Interface control of GFRP was investigated using glass fiber treated with ammonia gas plasma. In this paper, discussions, particularly concerning the effects of magnetic field under a pair of electrodes on the bending strength of GFRP prepared with plasma-treated fiber, are presented. The plasma treatments under various plasma condition; of treatment pressure, treatment power, electrode distance and treatment time were carried out in a bell-jar reactor for the glass fibers. Three-point flexural tests of GFRP were performed using an Instron testing machine in order to examine the effects of various plasma treatments on the composite materials. As a result, direct implantation of amino and imino groups onto the surface of glass fibers using magnets under plasma treatment are shown to be effective to improve the interfacial adhesion between glass fiber and epoxy resin. The bending strength of GFRP with plasma treatment became higher than that of GFRP made with untreated fiber. The bending strength of GFRP varied considerably with the plasma treatment parameters. The adhesion state of epoxy resin onto the surface of glass fiber after ammonia gas plasma treatment was observed in scanning electron micrographs of fracture surfaces. It can be verified from these results that interfacial adhesion between fiber and resin was increased by this process.