Abstract
The present study aims to the development of Out of Autoclave (OoA) Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs) with increased interlaminar fracture toughness by using MWCNTs. The introduction of MWCNTs into the structure of CFRPs has been succeeded by using carbon nanotube-enriched sizing agent for the pretreatment of the fiber preform using an in-house developed methodology that can be easily scaled up. The positive effect of the proposed methodology on the interlaminar fracture toughness of the CFRP laminate was assessed by the increase of Mode I and Mode II interlaminar fracture toughness of the composites. Different wt% MWCNTs concentrations were used (namely 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2.5%). It was found that the nanomodified composites exhibit a significant increase of the interlaminar critical strain energy release rate GIC and GIIC of the order of 103% and 62% respectively, in the case of 1.5 wt% MWCNTs weight content. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) of the fracture surfaces of CFRP samples revealed the contribution and the associated synergistic mechanisms of MWCNTs to the increase of the crack propagation resistance in the case of nano-modified CFRPs compared to the reference material.
Highlights
Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs) are increasingly used as advanced structural materials in various fields of applications such as aerospace, automotive, sports, energy and military industries
The present study aims to the development of Out of Autoclave (OoA) Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs) with increased interlaminar fracture toughness by using Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs)
It is obvious that the MWCNTs modified CFRPs achieve higher maximum loads, which corresponds to higher critical loads during the crack propagation than the reference material
Summary
Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs) are increasingly used as advanced structural materials in various fields of applications such as aerospace, automotive, sports, energy and military industries. This tendency is clearly driven by their high specific strength and stiffness as well as their corrosion resistance compared to the conventional metals. It is imperative to find an effective way to satisfy multifunctional requirements and through-thickness reinforcements without compromising the in-plane properties To this direction, there have been a number of attempts where many researchers have successfully developed through the thickness reinforcement methods to improve the fracture toughness of FRPs by using different methods, such as z-pinning [1] [2] [3], 3-D weaving, stitching [4] [5] [6] knitting, interleaving and toughening the matrix using micro-phase particles including rubbery or thermoplastics polymers [7]. The multi-scale reinforcement approach has resulted in the enhancement of damage tolerance and multi-functionality of conventional composites
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