Microstructure-elastic property relationships in carbon fibers: A nanoindentation study

Carbon fibers with high axial stiffness and strength have been used to reinforce polymer-matrix materials in advanced composites. However, these fibers exhibit large anisotropies in the radial and axial directions. In addition, limited data has been reported on the elastic properties of fibers in other directions than longitudinal and transversal directions, and on the relationship between elastic properties and fiber structures. In this study,...