Abstract

This study investigated the influence of electrospun polyurethane mats containing different contents of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) stacked in between basalt fabric layers to form a composite laminate. The composite laminate was fabricated using a vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) process. Flexural test were carried out to investigate the strength and stiffness of composites for each configuration, while the failure characteristics were observed using a field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) analysis. The results showed that flexural strength and stiffness of the hybrid composites with increasing CNT content in polyurethane (PU) nanofiber were increased by 6.5% and 17.3%, respectively. Furthermore, the addition of surfactants for the dispersion of CNTs in nanofibers significantly improved the flexural property of the composite interply basalt fabric-CNT/PU laminates. This study proved that the use of multi-scale reinforcement fillers with good and homogeneous dispersion increased the mechanical performance of the composite.

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