Improvement of Interfaces by Tethered Polymer Chains. Part II: Evaluation of a Particulate Composite at Very High Strain Rate

A study of the effect of tethered chains at the fiber-matrix interface on the performance of a particulate composite at very high strain rate was conducted. The materials system studied was composed of glass beads, polysulfone matrix, and polysulfone tethered chains. The entanglement of the tethered chains with the matrix in the composite specimen was confirmed by physico-chemical analysis. Although the tethered chains had been shown to have a beneficial effect on the interface in a single-fiber, model composite, they were found to have no effect whatsoever on the macroscopic behavior of the particulate composite at very high strain rate (150/s).