Characterization of interfacial behaviour in carbon-fibre/cyanate composites

In this study an attempt is made to investigate the influence of surface treatments such as oxidation and sizing on a high-strength carbon fibre in respect of interfacial adhesion in composite materials with a cyanate matrix. For analysing the fibre/resin interfacial adhesion the single-fibre pull-out technique has been used. The interfacial shear strengths obtained by this technique have been compared with results of interlaminar shear strength measurements corresponding to woven composite plates. In order to clarify the nature of this interfacial adhesion, both morphological (by atomic force microscopy, AFM) and chemical characterisation (by Fourier transform infrared, FTIR), have also been carried out.