Epoxy composites based on glass beads. II. Mechanical properties

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Abstract
A DGEBA/DDA network was used to study the toughening effect due to the introduction of glass beads with different volume fractions. The influence of surface treatment was also studied by comparing untreated, silane‐treated glass beads, and beads coated with different thicknesses of an elastomeric adduct. The effect of the volume fraction of glass and the surface treatment were discussed in terms of elastic and plastic properties. The results were compared with the usual theoretical models. Linear elastic fracture mechanics and impact tests were performed to study the crack propagation process. The various parameters influenced the deformation mechanism, especially for the coated glass bead composites, for which an optimum thickness was displayed. A large improvement in GIc value was obtained with a slight decrease for the stiffness. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.