Effects of post-cure on the mechanical properties of woven glass-polyestercomposite by macro and micro-mechanical methods

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of post curing by heat of the mechanical properties of woven glass-polyester composites. A three poin t bending test was considered under monotonic static and repetitive cyclic loadings. The damage mechanisms of specimen cross section were analysed usi ng an optical microscope. Upon the post curing by heat it was confirmed that the mechanical propertie s of the woven glass-polyester composites were increased moderately and the cure performance of the composite was also improved. Micro indentation tes ts were applied to study the quality of fibre-matrix interface by using bot h post cured and non post-cured. composites. The results of micro-indentation tests were in agreement with the monotonic and fatigue test and confirmed that post-cure improves the resistance of f ibre-matrix interface.