Light transmittance of continuous fibre-reinforced composites: Analysis, model experiment and parametric study

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Abstract
The light transmittance of unidirectionally aligned continuous fibre-reinforced composites at visible wavelengths were studied, Analysis was made of the light transmittance of a single-fibre composite, and the results were extended to the analysis of a multiple-fibre composite. A model experiment was carried out using a continuous SiO2-fibre-reinforced epoxy matrix composite. The experimentally obtained light transmittance of the composite perpendicular to the fibre axis was compared with the developed theoretical analysis and good agreement was obtained. Numerical simulations were carried out to obtain the higher light transmittance of the composite. The effects of firstly the refractive index mismatch between the fibre and the matrix, secondly the fibre radius and thirdly, the volume fraction on the transmittance are discussed using the developed analytical model. Key guidelines for obtaining high light transmittance of fibre-reinforced composites are discussed using the analytical results.