The characterization of carbon nanotube infused glass fibers by single filament fragmentation test methods

Single filament fragmentation tests were completed for individual glass fibers with varying surface treatments and carbon nanostructure infusions. Fiber fragmentation was analyzed by embedding a single filament into a standard tensile interface, which provided shear stress transfer between a conventional epoxy resin system and the constituent filament. Established single filament fragmentation techniques were used to characterize fiber and interface properties. A novel method of comparing fibers is introduced by correlating bundle tow test results to fiber fragmentation critical length data to qualitatively relate fiber performance. Photoelastic birefringent stress fringes were processed at select fiber fragmentation locations to further characterize the fiber-resin, or fiber-carbon nanostructure-resin, interface. Overall, the performance matrix qualitative comparison method, coupled with stress fringe analysis, proved to be an effective means of qualitatively evaluating fiber and processing parameters, and efficiently identifies the most fruitful path forward for optimized fiber development.