Acoustic Emission on Failure Analysis of Rubber-Modified Epoxy Resin

Rubber-modified epoxy resins have been employed as adhesive and matrix materials for glass and corbon-fiber composites. The behavior of fracture around a crack tip for rubber-modified epoxy resin is investigated through the acoustic emission (AE) analysis of compact tension specimens. Damage zone and rubber particles distributed around a crack tip were observed by a polarized optical microscope and an atomic force microscope (AFM). The damage zone in front of pre-crack tip in rubber-modified specimen $(15wt\%\; rubber)$ began to form at about $13\%$ level of the fracture load and grew in size until $57\%$ load level. After that, the crack propagated in a stick-slip manner. Based on time-frequency analysis of AE signals and microscopic observation of damage zone, it was thought that AE signals with frequency bands of 0.15-0.20 MHz and 0.20­0.30 MHz were generated from cavitation in the damage zone and crack propagation, respectively.