The Interfacial Bond Strength in Glass Fibre-Polyester Resin Composite Systems Part 2. The Effect of Surface Treatment

The effect of surface treatments on the bond strength in glass fibre-polyester resin composites has been investigated using single fibre interfacial shear strength specimens and the short beam shear test for interlaminar shear strength.

A range of bond strengths was obtained by using, either alone or in combination, the various components of the size formulation which is normally applied to the fibres, so that the interaction between the glass surface and the polyester ranged from Van de Waal forces through hydrogen bonding to covalent bonding, the bond strength increasing in that order.

The relative contribution to bond strength of mechanical bonding due to thermo-mechanical mismatch between the two components and of chemical bonding or physical interaction between the three phases, glass-surface treatment-resin, has been evaluated and found to be one third and two thirds respectively.