Abstract
A study has been made of the cooling rate influence on interlaminar fracture toughness of unidirectional carbon/PEEK composites. It is shown that the propagation values of both mode I and II propagation interlaminar fracture toughness increased with increasing cooling rate toward a saturation level. The cooling rate dependency of the composite interlaminar fracture toughness is the result of complex interactions between two important properties; matrix ductility and fibrematrix interface bond strength. These two properties varied in totally an opposite manner against cooling rate through its effect on crystallinity. The plastic deformation of PEEK matrix played a predominant role for composite toughness, while an adequate interface bond is required to allow matrix deformation to take place fully.
| Original language | British English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1063-1068 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Key Engineering Materials |
| Issue number | 187 PART 2 |
| State | Published - 2000 |
Keywords
- Carbon/PEEK Composite
- Cooling Rate
- Crystallinity
- Interface Adhesion
- Interlaminar Fracture Toughness
- Matrix Ductility