Abstract
This research work addresses the issue of developing light composite materials with increased ability for impact energy absorption. Novel, hybrid plain woven glass fibre fabric-epoxy laminates with multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) interlayers were fabricated in this study so that (a) only a few MWNT interlayers were placed close to the face of the laminate to be subjected to impact and (b) the interlayers were fabricated via innovative wide-line electrospinning of MWNT/epoxy/solvent solutions, depositing a mixture of aligned fibres and spray on the woven glass fibre fabrics; the laminate was then fabricated via resin transfer moulding (RTM). Hybrid nano-micro-composite laminates with 0.15 wt% MWNT were prepared with this method and were subjected to single low rate impact tests. It was found that the optimised hybrid laminates had 22% greater total penetration energy translated to 15% weight reduction in the laminate armour for an equivalent amount of energy penetration.
Highlights
The aim of this work has been to increase the impact penetration energy of a plate while maintaining very low weight
The materials, parameters and conditions of the electrospinning experiments are summarised together with a brief description of the results in order to select the optimum concentrations of the Carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-Epoxy solutions
The product of trial 12 is presented in Figure 2 and this involves Araldite/hardener as the feed materials, which means that the electrospun fibres are composite materials of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT)/cured epoxy
Summary
The aim of this work has been to increase the impact penetration energy of a plate while maintaining very low weight. The main idea to accomplish this was to use a very small amount of nanomaterials or nanofibres that would increase the absorbed impact energy via different mechanisms utilising the large specific surface area of the nanomaterial. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been investigated in composite materials, to increase the electrical conductivity of the polymer matrix by adding a very small amount of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) in the range 0.1–7 wt% [1,2,3]. Any methods to improve matrix properties and delamination are under consideration for increasing the required penetration energy under impact: these include 3D weaving and stitching [9], matrix toughening by adding nanoparticles or clay nanoplatelets [10,11,12,13,14,15] or nanowhiskers [16,17]. In aiming at maximum absorption and dissipation of impact energy, the following mechanisms may be considered: plastic deformation of tough materials and structures, hyperelastic, viscoelastic or plastic material layers such as polyurea and other energy-dissipation layers such as foams [18]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
