繊維強化による高強度ゲルの開発  [in Japanese] Fiber Reinforced Gels with High Strength  [in Japanese]

After 2001, several methods have been devised to improve the mechanical strength of gels extraordinarily. It was a trigger to use gels as a new industrial materials, since gels had been considered difficult for industrial materials because of their weakness. The purpose of this study is to create novel composite materials, which realizes the further high strength of gels by adding fiber to the gels. We evaluated the mechanical properties of the gels, containing a very small amount of the fiber, in order to quantify how the fiber works for enhancement of the gels. It is found that to improve the adhesion between fiber and the gel matrix is important for increasing the mechanical strength of the newly proposed gels. Since there are many kinds of gels and fibers, it becomes possible to achieve a dramatic enhancement of the strength if we find an appropriate combination for rigid adhesion.