Effect of the cold plasma treatment on the RTM impregnation of carbon fibers braided by PET

The weak impregnation will result in the formation of traps in the composites because the impregnation of the resin to fiber reinforcement is one of the major factors during the filling process of RTM. It will degrade the interfacial performance of the composites. In this paper, the cold plasma technology is used to treat the surface of carbon fibers braided by PET and the surface microstructure of the carbon fiber is analysed by AFM. The results show that the cold plasma treatment improves the surface polarity of the carbon fiber, which enhances the impregnation of the carbon fiber braided by PET during the resin flowing process and improves the interfacial properties of RTM composites.