Deformation behavior of release agent coated glass fibre / epoxy composite using carbon nanotubes as strain sensors

The deformation behavior of model glass fiber in epoxy composites has been studied using Raman spectroscopyproperties. Single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) were introduced at the glass fiber/epoxy interface as strain sensors,which can be detected by Raman Spectroscopy, to sense the strain profile of the fiber under deformation. The release agentwas applied on the fiber surface before composite fabrication. It was found that at high strain level, the behavior of a singlefiber in a composite did not follow a classical shear-lag model as shown in the fragmentation study. This is due to the interfacial failure caused by the release agent. The strain mapping result can be compared to that without release agent coating.The finding confirmed the application of SWNTs as strain sensors at the fiber/composite interface.