Abstract
This investigation examines the role of carboxyl functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (COOH-MWCNTs) in the on- and off-axis flexure and the shear responses of thin carbon woven fabric composite plates. The chemically functionalized COOH-MWCNTs were used to fabricate epoxy nanocomposites and, subsequently, carbon woven fabric plates to be tested on flexure and shear. In addition to the neat epoxy, three loadings of COOH-MWCNTs were examined: 0.5 wt%, 1.0 wt% and 1.5 wt% of epoxy. While no significant statistical difference in the flexure response of the on-axis specimens was observed, significant increases in the flexure strength, modulus and toughness of the off-axis specimens were observed. The average increase in flexure strength and flexure modulus with the addition of 1.5 wt% COOH-MWCNTs improved by 28% and 19%, respectively. Finite element modeling is used to demonstrate fiber domination in on-axis flexure behavior and matrix domination in off-axis flexure behavior. Furthermore, the 1.5 wt% COOH-MWCNTs increased the toughness of carbon woven composites tested on shear by 33%. Microstructural investigation using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) proves the existence of chemical bonds between the COOH-MWCNTs and the epoxy matrix.
Highlights
The use of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites has grown very rapidly over the last few decades, due to their attractive physical, mechanical and thermal properties [1]
We look at three cases in Figure 10b: neat epoxy, epoxy with 0.5 wt% COOH-multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and epoxy with 1 wt%
The results showed that the flexure behavior of such thin woven fabric composite plates depends significantly on the fiber orientation
Summary
The use of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites has grown very rapidly over the last few decades, due to their attractive physical, mechanical and thermal properties [1]. Some of their common applications include civil infrastructure, composite bridge decks, oil and gas pipelines and turbine blades in windmills. The failure of FRPs is complex, especially when multi-layer laminates are examined. Typical failure modes of FRPs include fiber fracture, matrix fracture, fiber-matrix interface debonding and interlaminar delamination [2,3]. One of the recent promising techniques to overcome the premature failure of composites due to delamination/debonding is to reinforce the composites with nanoparticles
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