The fracture properties of two commercial epoxide resins have been investigated both unfilled and filled with varying volume fraction of silica, alumina and dolomite particles. The values of the stress intensity factor, KIC, at a certain crack velocity, were measured using the double torsion test technique. In selected cases comparative values were obtained using the single-edge notch geometry. In order to examine the influence of the resin-filler adhesion on the fracture toughness, alumina particles were treated with three silane compounds changing the degree of adhesion between the phases. The yield stresses and flexural strengths of the composites were also measured. The changes in fracture toughness in the presence of the inclusions have been explained in terms of a crack pinning mechanism.

The fracture of particulate-filled epoxide resins: Part 1

The double torsion test technique was used to investigate the fracture properties of two commercial epoxide resins filled with glass beads. The influence of varying the volume fraction of glass, the mean particle size and the pre-treatment of the glass surface on the stress intensity factor have been determined. A correlation has been found between the compressive yield strength and the stability of fracture in these composites, similar to that found for unfilled epoxide resins.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/BF01120021.pdf

The fracture of particulate-filled epoxide resins

Fracture and failure of multiphase polymers and polymer composites

In this review the wide spectrum of properties of filled polymer systems is generalized. Classical and modern conceptions dealing with the influence of the boundary layer and filler on melting and crystallization of the polymer matrix. Polymer properties in the melted and condensed state are considered, attention being given to the influence of the filler particle size and shape, the nature of its surface, its structure, and agglomeration on the rheological and mechanical characteristics of composites.

Filled polymers: Mechanical properties and processability

Micromechanics of bone strength and fracture

The mechanical properties of glass bead, randomly oriented short glass fiber and randomly oriented short graphite fiber polyphenylene oxide composites were investigated. Fracture toughness measurements were made using double edge-notched tensile specimens and tensile strength, tensile strain and initial elastic modulus were measured in standard ASTM tensile tests. It was found that the fracture toughness was relatively independent of filler types and geometry (and nearly equal to that of the unfilled polymer) when no polymer-filler adhesion was present. When adhesion was promoted by surface treatment of the reinforcement, the fracture toughness of the treated fiber composites was greater than that of the untreated composites, while that of the treated particulate composites was below that of the untreated materials. The fracture toughness was also relatively independent of fiber concentration, but decreased sharply with increased glass bead concentration. The elastic moduli of the composites vari...

K. L. Trachte

Papers

Fracture Properties of Polyphenylene Oxide Composites