New Potentialities in Producing Composites Reinforced with High-Strength High-Modulus Polyethylene Fibers

Authors: Korneeva N.V.¹; Kudinov V.V.²; Bazhenov S.L.³; Solodilov V.I.¹; Pavlovskii D.V.¹; Zelenskii E.S.¹

Source: Mechanics of Composite Materials, Volume 38, Number 6, November 2002 , pp. 555-560(6)

Publisher: Springer

Buy & download fulltext article:

Price: $47.00 plus tax (Refund Policy)

Abstract:

A concept of physical and chemical stages of interaction between the matrix and reinforcing fibers during the production of composite materials is introduced. A strong bond between these constituents is formed at the stage of chemical interaction, which is characterized by a certain value of activation energy. The activation energy of such an interaction for high-strength high-modulus polyethylene fibers used for reinforcing composites is estimated. Based on these estimates, conditions for fiber activation with “cold” plasma are found. The application of plasma-activated polyethylene fibers for reinforcing an epoxy matrix allows one to produce light-weight composites with high physicomechanical indices. The failure mode of such composites points to a high strength of the bond between the fibers and matrix. The data on treating the fiber surface with “cold” plasma above the activation energy of chemical interaction may be utilized to create new types of organic composites from other kinds of organic fibers and matrices.

Keywords: high-strength high-modulus polyethylene fibers; light-weight composite materials; “cold” plasma; treatment of fibers; chemical bond

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Semenov Institute of Chemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia 2: Baikov Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia 3: Enikolopov Institute of Synthetic Polymer Materials, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

Publication date: 2002-11-01