Fabrication and evaluation of 1.3 PZT fiber/epoxy composites

1.3 composites were fabricated with PZT 5A fibers and a standard epoxy. The composites were simply obtained by natural packing of pre-coated PZT fibers in a mold. Fiber spacing and consequently PZT volume fraction is determined by the fiber coating thickness. A method allowing to control the epoxy coating thickness is proposed. Composite with volume fraction lying between 10 and 70% have been obtained using this process. The composites properties were measured for three kinds of samples: longitudinal expander rod, lateral expander rod and thickness expander plate. The measurements are compared with a simple homogenization model prediction. Properties of the PZT 5A fibers were adjusted to get a good fit between measurement and theoretical predictions. Indirect experimental properties of the PZT 5A fibers are then obtained. A good agreement is observed for composite properties variation with the PZT volume fraction.