1. Instantaneous mechanical behavior

The instantaneous mechanical behavior (tension, flexion, shear, compression, impact) of an organic matrix composite (thermoplastic or thermoset), whether reinforced with unidirectional or multidirectional continuous fibers, short or long chopped fibers, or spherical particles, is sensitive to the state of the reinforcement/matrix bond.

In the case of globally isotropic materials, reinforced with beads or chopped fibers (usually short) and often referred to as "filled polymers", the right choice of reinforcement surface treatment or matrix coupling, i.e. optimization of interfacial quality, generally leads to improved mechanical performance in tension, flexion or impact, albeit in varying proportions depending on the case and the characteristics considered. This is illustrated in Table 1 for various matrix...