Size Effect on Microbond Testing Interfacial Shear Strength of Fiber-Reinforced Composites

Microbond tests have been widely used for studying the interfacial mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced composites. However, experimental results reveal that the interfacial shear strength (IFSS) depends on the length of microdroplet-embedded fiber (l_e). Thus, it is essential to provide an insight into this size effect on IFSS. In this paper, microbond tests are conducted for two kinds of widely used composites, i.e., glass fiber/epoxy matrix and carbon fiber/epoxy matrix. The lengths of microdroplet-embedded glass fiber and carbon fiber are in the ranges from 114.29 µm to 557.14 µm and from 63.78 µm to 157.45 µm, respectively. We analyze the representative force–displacement curves, the processes of interfacial failure and frictional sliding, and the maximum force and the frictional force as functions of l_e. Experimental results show that IFSS of both material systems monotonically decreases with l_e and then approaches a constant value. The finite element model is used to analyze the size effect on IFSS and interfacial failure behaviors. For both material systems, IFSS predicted from simulations is consistent with that obtained from experiments. Moreover, by analyzing the shear stress distribution, a transition of interface debonding is found from more or less uniform separation to crack propagation when l_e increases. This study reveals the mechanism of size effect in microbond tests, serving as an effective method to evaluate the experimental results and is critical to guidelines for the design and optimization of advanced composites.