Study of the surface energy characteristics of glass and carbon fiber by the Washburn method

Abstract

The Washburne adsorption method (capillary rise method), as an alternative to the standard single fiber method, is proposed to investigate the surface energy characteristics of glass and carbon fibers using a K- 100 processor tensiometer. The paper considers sample preparation of fibrous materials measured by the Washburn method: filling a Teflon tube with glass and carbon fibers, packing density of the resulting capillary, and determination of the capillarity constant. The results of measurements of the wettability of fibers in test liquids (water, hexane) and in the solution epoxy binder UP-2227N are presented. The influence of appretting on the surface energy characteristics of glass fiber and carbon fiber was studied, a comparative analysis of the obtained values (wetting angle, SEP, adhesion) was carried out before and after the removal of lubricants.