THE CARBON-FIBER EPOXY INTERFACE - A REVIEW

A brief critical review is presented of research into the nature of the interface in carbon fibre/epoxy matrix composites, and the influence of the interface on properties. The review concentrates on recent publications and earlier notable work. The nature of the interface and interphase is discussed and the effects of fibre structure, fibre surface and surface treatment, fibre coating (size) and matrix are described. Techniques for examining the fibre surface and measuring interfacial properties are summarised. Principal conclusions and unresolved issues are listed.