| Abstract: | High-quality data on the three-dimensional (3-D) spatial distributions of glass and carbon fibres in fibre-reinforced polymer composites are important for both process control and the modelling of the mechanical and thermal properties of these composites. The advent of economical, high-speed, image analyser systems has enabled numerous research groups to measure directional distributions of fibre samples. Specimens are microtomed and polished and, using optical reflection microscopy, thousands of elliptical fibre images may be analysed within a short period of time. From the eccentricity of the fibre images, estimation of the angles (θ, φ) of each fibre relative to the vertical axis and within the measurement plane is deduced. However, this measurement is subject to considerable error. The confocal scanning laser microscope (CSLM), operating in fluorescence mode or reflection mode, is capable of improving the angular resolution (δθ, δφ) for all fibre directions. The ability of the CSLM to optically section glass and carbon fibre-reinforced polymer composites down to depths of 20 or 30 μm allows the user to determine accurate fibre directions from the apparent movement of fibre profiles. The CSLM has the potential for standardizing measurements of 3-D fibre directions in polymer composites and providing the quality directional data which are required for the theoretical modelling of composite processing and composite strength. |
