Abstract
GORDON and Jeronimidis1 and Atkins2 have noted that increased fracture toughness in fibrous composites can be obtained by an enhanced decoupling of the fibre–matrix interface. Gordon1 has pointed out that in the case of wood (natural cellulose), the decoupling of the ‘reinforcing elements’ from the rest of the structure is stress dependent and the cells in the vicinity of the fracture face can extend by about 20 per cent before breaking, absorbing a great deal of energy in the process. The failing strain of the material as a whole is, however, about 1%. Atkins2 pointed out that increased wdrks of fracture can be obtained in boron fibre expoxy resin composites by arranging for a distribution of strongly and weakly bonded interfacial regions along the fibres. During crack propagation the weakly bonded regions allow greater lengths of fractured fibres to be pulled out of the matrix with a concomitant increase in the work of fracture. The tensile strength of the composite system is not affected significantly but the overall failing strain is again limited by the failing strain of the reinforcing fibres to about 1%.
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References
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MORLEY, J. Tough fibrous composites. Nature 254, 323–324 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1038/254323a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/254323a0
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