Excellent interfacial bonding in UHMWPE fiber/epoxy resin composites fabricated via a swelling approach

With excellent mechanical performances, fiber-reinforced composites usually have a good interface property between fibers and the matrix to achieve effective load transfer. In this paper, a novel approach that the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers were swelled in decalin following a simple process was used to increase the extent of interfacial adhesion achieved between the fibers and epoxy resin (EP) matrix to avoid or reduce the mechanical damage of the fiber caused by etching or coating at the same time. The molecular chain of the amorphous region is stretched to the maximum extent under these conditions, and this helps improve the wettability levels between the fiber and the resin matrix. The maximum interfacial shear strength (2.76 MPa) was recorded for the swollen fibers and epoxy resin at a temperature of 40 celcius when the swelling time was 7 h. The shear strength was 54.19% higher than the shear strength recorded for the original UHMWPE/EP system. The results reported herein reveal that the swelling method followed by us can be effectively used to improve the interfacial bonding strength between the fibers and the resin matrix.