Effect of silane coupling agent on mechanical interfacial properties of glass fiber-reinforced unsaturated polyester composites

A silane coupling agent, γmethacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane, for the surface modification of glass fibers was varied between 0.1 and 0.8 wt %. To understand the role of interfacial adhesion of glass fiber/unsaturated polyester composites, contact angles of the silane-treated glass fibers were measured by the wicking method on the basis of the modified Washburn equation with deionized water, diiodomethane, and ethylene glycol as testing liquids. As a result, silane-treated glass fibers led to increased surface free energy, mainly because of their increased specific or polar component. The mechanical interfacial behaviors based on the interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) of the composites determined by short-beam tests and the critical stress-intensity factor (K_IC) were also improved in the case of silane-treated composites. The surface free energy and the mechanical interfacial properties especially showed the maximum value in the presence of 0.4 wt % silane coupling agent. It revealed that the increase of a specific component of the surface free energy or hydrogen bonding between the glass fibers and the coupling agents plays an important role in improving the degree of adhesion at interfaces in a composite system.