AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GLASS-POLYMER HYBRID MULTI - LAYER LAMINATES HAVING ENHANCED FAILURE RESISTANCE AND GLASS-POLYMER HYBRID MULTI - LAYER LAMINATES MADE THEREBY

摘要

In the present invention, an improved process has been provided to obtain glass polymer hybrid multi-layer laminates with enhanced failure resistance. The enhancement in failure resistance was made possible through controlled interfacial decoding leading to the growth of delaminating cracks. The architecture of the multi-layer composite involved alternate placement of a plurality of brittle glass and viscoeiastic polymeric layers with a deliberately designed weak interface between the two. In particular the desired variation in the degree of weakness was achieved by the innovative introduction of a thin oily film at the interface between the glass layer and the polymeric layer. In addition, the advantage of the low pressure lamination technique was exploited to further develop the weakness of the interface. This makes the process not only simpler but also cost effective. It has been shown further that depending on the type of oily film, type of reinforcement and the number of reinforcing layers, the failure resistance of the glass polymer hybrid multi-layer composites can be enhanced to a value of as high as about , 1341 J/m2 in comparison to a low value of about 5 J/m2 obtained for the brittle glass ; matrix. Similarly, on the lower side values as small as about 10 J/m2 could also be obtained for the failure resistance of the glass polymer hybrid multi-layer composites, Idepending on the type of oily film, the type of reinforcement and the number of reinforcing layers. In other words, thus, the present process provides a means to tailor the failure resistance of the glass polymer hybrid multi-layer composites to suit a particular end application.