from the conferences organized by TANGER Ltd.
Plasma treatments were used to modify surface properties of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and glass micro fibers, to improve their wettability. PET fibers, having diameter of 400 µm, and glass fibers (ø14 µm) were exposed to low pressure oxygen plasma. A direct horizontal optical method was used for contact angle measurements on fiber surfaces submerged into distilled water. Surface morphology changes before and after treatment were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. Finally, cement paste specimens reinforced with PET and lime-based mortars reinforced with glass fibers were made and after 28 days of mixture curing tested by four-point bending tests. After oxygen plasma treatment contact angles decreased by 60 % on PET fibers and by 25 % on glass fibers in comparison with untreated fibers. Next, SEM images revealed the significant surface damages of PET fibers and minor damages of glass fibers. Both four-point tested samples reinforced with treated fibers exhibited the maximum bending strength loss about to 10 to 20 percent compared to samples with untreated reinforcement. The samples reinforced with untreated PET fibers exhibited the deflection-softening, while the samples with plasma treated fibers deflection-hardening.
Keywords: Plasma Treatments; Cool Oxygen Plasma; Wettability; Contact Angle; Micro Fibers© This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.