Characterisation of the interfacial bond strength between glass fibre and epoxy resin using the pull-out and push-out techniques

Abstract

Interfacial bond strength between epoxy resin and glass fibre was studied using the pull-out and push-out techniques. For untreated fibres, these micromechanical tests gave similar values of the local interfacial shear strength and critical energy release rate. In the case of fibres treated by γ-APS, both tests showed considerable increase in the bond strength. However, for the modified fibres, the pull-out test gave greater values of both interfacial parameters than the push-out test, a result attributed to the different modes of interfacial loading. The different loading patterns also cause different failure mechanisms in these two tests.