Effect of brushing & abrading of laminae on the mode I fracture toughness of glass fiber/epoxy composite

To increase the interlaminar fracture toughness of the glass fiber/epoxy composite, a glass fiber forest surface was developed on the surface of the glass fiber fabric, which acts as interleaf in the matrix of laminates. The glass fiber forest (GFF) was produced manually through a simple brushing and abrading of the glass fiber for 5 times, 10 times, 20 times and 30 times in both weft and warp direction of the glass fiber fabric. Due to developing of GFF surface, the mode I interlaminar fracture toughness G(I) of glass fiber epoxy composite was increased depending on brushing and abrading times. For 5, 10 and 20 times, increase in G(I) was about 13.76%, 14.43% and 16.63%, respectively. While for 30 times brushing, G i increased up to it's highest value of 22.61% with a moderate loss of about 25.585% in the in-plane tensile strength. Observation of the surface highlighted that glass fiber forest formed on the fabrics developed a 3-D fiber network in matrix between the laminates region. Mechanism analysis showed that increase in toughness occurred due to fiber bridging caused by the glass fiber forest implanting in fabrics, presenting same through-thickness reinforcing mechanism. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.