Evaluation of the Effect of Thermal Oxidation and Moisture on the Interfacial Shear Strength of Unidirectional IM7/BMI Composite by Fiber Push-in Nanoindentation

Fiber push-in nanoindentation is conducted on a unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced bismaleimide resin composite (IM7/BMI) after thermal oxidation to determine the interfacial shear strength. A unidirectional IM7/BMI laminated plate is isothermally oxidized under various conditions: in air for 2 months at 195 °C and 245 °C, and immersed in water for 2 years at room temperature to reach a moisture-saturated state. The water-immersed specimens are subsequently placed in a preheated environment at 260 °C to receive sudden heating, or are gradually heated at a rate of approximately 6 °C/min. A flat punch tip of 3 μm in diameter is used to push the fiber into the matrix while the resulting load-displacement data is recorded. From the load-displacement data, the interfacial shear strength is determined using a shear-lag model, which is verified by finite element method simulations. It is found that thermal oxidation at 245 °C in air leads to a significant reduction in interfacial shear strength of the IM7/BMI unidirectional composite, while thermal oxidation at 195 °C and moisture concentration have a negligible effect on the interfacial shear strength. For moisture-saturated specimens under a slow heating rate, there is no detectable reduction in the interfacial shear strength. In contrast, the moisture-saturated specimens under sudden heating show a significant reduction in interfacial shear strength. Scanning electron micrographs of IM7/BMI composite reveal that both thermal oxidation at 245 °C in air and sudden heating induced microcracks and debonding along the fiber/matrix interface, thereby weakening the interface, which is the origin of failure mechanism.