Fragmentation in alumina fibre reinforced epoxy model composites monitored using fluorescence spectroscopy

It has been found that well-defined fluorescence R₁ and R₂ lines can be obtained from PRD-166 alumina-zirconia fibres and that the fluorescence R lines shift with applied stress. They are found to shift to higher wavenumber when subjected to tensile deformation and to lower wavenumber in compression. The stress-sensitive fluorescence R₂ line has been used to map the distribution of stress along PRD-166 fibres embedded in an epoxy resin matrix cured under different conditions. It has been shown that the distributions of stress along the PRD-166 fibres at different levels of matrix strain are consistent with those predicted by conventional shear-lag analysis. The interfacial shear stress has been derived from the point-to-point variation of stress along the fibre. The fluorescence technique has also been used to map the stress distribution along a PRD-166 fragment in an epoxy matrix during a single-fibre fragmentation test where it is found that debonded regions propagate along the fibre fragments during loading, after initial fragmentation has occurred.