X-ray diffraction studies of the environmental deterioration of a transversely loaded carbon-fibre-reinforced composite

A unidirectional continuous-carbon-fibre-reinforced composite was subjected to stress in the direction perpendicular to the fibre direction. By X-ray diffraction, the stress on the incorporated fibre in the composite under transverse load was monitored, and the effects of the environment (water, heat) on stress transfer in the composite were investigated. The adhesion between the matrix and the fibre was irreversibly destroyed by the water absorption and/or cyclic heating, which is found to bring worse stress transfer to the incorporated fibre. X-ray diffraction is a powerful tool for monitoring the stress transfer and its environmental deterioration behaviour in the composite in situ and non-destructively. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.