Effect of chemical nature of matrix on the strength of bonds with Armos aramide fibers

This investigation deals with adhesion between high-strength and high-modulus Armos aramide fibers (polyheteroarylene-co-p-phenyleneterephthalamide) and a series of different thermosetting matrices. The effect of the chemical nature of the matrix, time-temperature conditions of bond formation, and test temperature on the strength of the fiber-matrix interface was studied. Modified epoxy and heat-resistant matrices were used as adhesives. As a measure of adhesion, the shear adhesive strength ₀ determined by the fiber pull-out technique was used. It was found that both the adhesive strength and the fracture location in adhesive bonds depended on the nature of the matrix. At room temperature, chlorine-containing epoxy matrices provide the highest values of ₀, while the smallest strength of the interface is observed for bonds with heat-resistant (bismaleimide, oligomethacrylate) matrices. Fracture of adhesive bonds does not always occur at the fiber-matrix interface. A number of the specimens failed near the interface of the fiber. With temperature increase, the values of ₀ decrease. The adhesive strength falls especially drastically in the region of matrix softening. An advantage of heat-resistant matrices is that they retain 60–67% of ₀ value even at 250°C. The strength of unidirectional composites based on the investigated fibers and matrices was also estimated under different loading conditions such as tension, shear, compression, and bending. It was found that the strength in shear and compression did not correlate with the interface strength. The values of _c in bending and tension increased linearly with increase of ₀. The obtained dependences _c–₀ were compared with those of composites based on the SVM polyheteroarylene fibers determined by us earlier.Presented at the 10th International Conference on the Mechanics of Composite Materials (Riga, April 20–23, 1998).Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 34, No. 3, pp. 391–406, May–June, 1998.