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This research was funded by Universidad Politecnica de Madrid and Comunidad de Madrid through "Programa Ayuda para la realizacion de Proyectos de I+D para jovenes investigadores de la Universidad Politecnica de Madrid" (Ref. F6TCCN-145-GGT34M), and by MAT4.0-CM project (S2018/NMT-4381).
Effect of Fiber-Matrix Interface on the Mechanical Response of a Woven Carbon Fiber/PEEK Composite Material
Publicated to:Materials. 15 (20): 7340- - 2022-10-01 15(20), DOI: 10.3390/ma15207340
Authors: Andres Toro, Sebastian; Ridruejo, Alvaro; Gonzalez, Carlos; Fernandez Blazquez, Juan Pedro
Affiliations
Abstract
This work studies the relationship between the interface shear strength (IFSS) and the mechanical response of a carbon fiber-reinforced composite with a polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) thermoplastic matrix. Two types of laminates were studied: the first kind was manufactured with as-received fiber fabrics, while specimens belonging to the second one were fabricated with thermally treated fibers where the original sizing agent was removed. IFSS values were measured with the push-in test, showing that treated fibers exhibit a 25% higher critical shear stress. Microscopic inspection of the laminates revealed that untreated specimens were prone to debonding, generating a much higher crack density. This difference was detected by the C-Scan technique and triggered in the response of both laminates under tensile tests at +/- 45 circle fiber orientation, where maximum stress and strain at break values of desized specimens showed an increase of 37% and 190%, respectively. Results confirmed that the original fiber sizing weakened the fiber-matrix interface. Lastly, the tensile response of the composite is analyzed in light of interface quality.
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Quality index
Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel
The work has been published in the journal Materials due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2022, it was in position 20/79, thus managing to position itself as a Q2 (Segundo Cuartil), in the category Metallurgy & Metallurgical Engineering. Notably, the journal is positioned en el Cuartil Q2 para la agencia Scopus (SJR) en la categoría Materials Science (Miscellaneous).
From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from the Field Citation Ratio (FCR) of the Dimensions source, it yields a value of: 1.34, which indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: Dimensions Jul 2025)
Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-07-16, the following number of citations:
- WoS: 6
- Scopus: 3
- Google Scholar: 6
Impact and social visibility
Leadership analysis of institutional authors
This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Chile; United States of America.
There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Andres Toro, Sebastian) .
the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been RIDRUEJO RODRIGUEZ, ALVARO.