Study of fiber surface treatment on mechanical properties of epoxy composites fabricated

In the present study, glass fiber/epoxy composites with different surface condition were prepared to determine the influence of surface treatment on the mechanical properties. The glass fibers were acid activated with 10% (v/v) HCl to regenerate hydroxyl groups before silanization. The treatment with aminopropyltriethoxysilane (γ- APS) was deposited on the fibers by a solvent process. Chemical reactions at the fiber-silane interfaces were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Mechanical properties of the composites have been investigated by tensile and short beam test. The enhancement of 6% for acid activated treated fibers and 25% for silanized fibers in comparison to non-treated samples was found in short beam test .However, the tensile strength of treated glass fiber composites decreased, Crosslinked structure of silane and chemical corrosion of glass fiber surface were assumed to be the cause of reduction. The fracture surfaces of the composites were observed with scanning electron microscope (SEM)