Transient Thermal Deformations of the Interphase in Polymer Composites

Abstract Heterodyne micro-interferometry was utilized to measure out-of-plane transient displacements in the interphase due to thermal cycling. In-situ measurements were made on single carbon fiber/epoxy samples with interphases of varying glass transition temperature. Interphase properties were tailored such that one set of samples had fibers which were coated with a low Tg resin, another set had a higher Tg coating, and in the third set the fibers were uncoated. The interferometric data demonstrated that interphase Tg has a significant effect on the rate and magnitude of the thermal deformations at the fiber/matrix interface. The presence of a low Tg interphase caused an increase in the magnitude of the thermal displacements due to a local softening of the matrix and increase in coefficient of thermal expansion. In addition, the rate at which the displacements increase was also higher due to the reduction in Tg. Samples with untreated fibers (no tailored interphase) behaved as if a low Tg interphase had formed. Experimental displacement profiles were also compared with finite element predictions to assess the behavior of the tailored interphases.