Abstract
The single fibre pull-out (SFPO) test has been used to investigate the interfacial interaction between a glass fibre and a polyester matrix system. However, mechanical data alone cannot explain fully the mechanisms of failure, and time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) has been utilised to gain insight into the interfacial chemistry of adhesion. The present work employs ToF-SIMS for the forensic examination of fibre surfaces following a SFPO test. Regions of interest have been selected for retrospective spectral analysis. Results are presented which lead to the description of a failure model based upon these complementary analytical techniques. ToF-SIMS has revealed a difference in the surface chemistry at the fibre tip compared to the bulk of the pulled out region, which correlates with stress transfer models in the literature showing higher stress states existing at the embedded fibre tip region. The application of the methodology to nano-modified polyester matrix composites is discussed.