Abstract
An experimental study was conducted to characterise temperature effects on the relationship between the plane-strain fracture toughness of polyetherimide (PEI) matrix and mode-I and mode-II interlaminar fracture toughness of woven carbon fibre/polyetherimide (CF/PEI) thermoplastic composites. The decreasing trend in initiation toughness, GIC,ini and GIIC,ini, for mode-I and mode-II interlaminar fracture was not consistent with the increase in matrix toughness with increasing temperature, but was related more to the decrease in fibre/matrix interfacial shear strength (IFSS) due to the overriding role of the weakened interface at delamination initiation. On the other hand, during delamination propagation, the increase in composite toughness, GIC,prop and GIIC,prop, corresponded to that in matrix toughness. Further, it was found that the fibre bridging promoted by the weakened interface made clear contributions to the translation of resin toughness to delamination toughness at elevated temperatures, especially in mode-I testing.
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