• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.2771-2776
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• 2000

In this work, the effect of surface treatment of prepreg on the mode I fracture behavior was studied. Unidirectional (0-deg) double cantilever beam (DCB) specimens were used for fracture tests. Two groups of DCB specimens were made: the first group was made of prepregs surface-treated by Ar(sup)+ ion beam under oxygen environment and the second group was made of regular prepregs. For both groups, fracture resistance curve (R-curve) was determined and compared to each other, Results showed that resistance behavior of the first group is better than that of the second group. That is, mode I fracture toughness, G(sub)Ic of the first group is 24% larger than that of the second group. SEM examination shows that the improvement of G(sub)Ic is due to the increase of interfacial strength between plies.