FIBER ORIENTATION AND CONCENTRATION ANALYSIS BY LIGHT-SCATTERING - EXPERIMENTAL SETUP AND DIAGNOSIS

A simple and independent optical diagnosis (concentration and orientat ion of fibers in a polymer composite) is developed. An experimental se tup has been designed to record maps of scattered light from a laser b eam as it crosses a cloud of fibers. From the consideration of the ell ipses which fit the recorded images, the fiber orientation and concent ration inside a composite polymer sample are determined. The method of measurement is tested with glass fiber-polycarbonate matrix polymer c omposites. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.