The strength of composite reinforcement fibres is normally measured on samples of much greater length than the actual residual fibre lengths found in many composite materials. This is due to a number of limitations of the standard techniques which are employed. We present a description of a technique which enables values for the tensile strength of composite reinforcement fibres at short gauge lengths to be obtained. The technique is based on an adaptation of a micro-mechanical test apparatus for fibre pullout measurements. Data is presented which was obtained at gauge lengths of 180380 µm on E-glass and S-2 glass® fibres taken from different chopped reinforcement products. The technique can be used at gauge lengths as short as 20 µm. The data indicates that the values of average fibre strength in these products are significantly below the pristine glass strength values.
The strength of laminates distinctly depends on the transverse strength of the laminas. The transverse failure is dominated by the adhesion between fiber and matrix. Usual strength criteria however do not take into account the adhesive strength explicitly. The determination of the interface strength is performed on the micromechanical scale using single fiber specimens. The fibers are loaded under off-axis loading while the debonding is monitored under a microscope. The stresses acting in the Interface are calculated by finite element analyses. It is found that for off-axial angles up to 35° interfacial debonding is the dominant failure mode while fiber breakage takes place at lower angles. The occurrence of fiber breakage and debonding under off-axis loading shows that the restriction to two potential failure planes - perpendicular or parallel to the fibers - as applied in common failure criteria has to be put in question.