Novel application of a thermoplastic composite with improved matrix-fiber interface

Ornamental materials are widely used in many fields such as construction. However, they have a main issue: up to 60% of processed marble pieces break due to their low toughness. In this work, an externally bonded reinforcement which can cope with this problem is presented. It must absorb the shock energy when marble is subjected to an impact without increasing severely the production cost. A thermoplastic polymer matrix composite is proposed due to its high toughness compared with conventional thermoset polymer matrix composites. However, thermoplastics present an issue related to the adhesion with the reinforcement, therefore fibers must be treated to solve this matter. Atmospheric pressure plasma torch offers a time saving and environmental friendly solution for improving adhesion between the fibers and the matrix. Finally, when marble is reinforced with the composite an important increase in absorbed energy is found in both, Charpy and drop tower test.