Effect of Fiber Sizing Levels on the Mechanical Properties of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Thermoset Composites.

Fiber sizing is one of the most important components in manufacturing composites by affecting mechanical properties, including strength and stiffness. The sizing of manmade fibers offers many advantages, such as improving fiber/matrix adhesion and bonding properties, protecting fiber surfaces from damage during the processing and weaving stages, and enhancing the surface wettability of polymer matrices. In this work, the influence of fiber sizing levels on carbon fibers' (CFs) mechanical properties is reported at room temperature using single fiber tensile testing (Favimat+), single fiber pullout testing (SFPO), and interfacial elemental analysis by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).