Interlaminar reinforced carbon fiber/epoxy composites by electrospun ultrafine hybrid fibers

Abstract

The demand for high-strength composites in the aerospace industry is increasing; however, their low-impact resistance poses a danger to aircraft. Consequently, significant attention has been devoted to researching the interlaminar toughening of carbon fiber-epoxy composite laminates, focusing on electrospun fibers due to their high porosity and specific surface area. Our previous work explored the potential of poly(aryl ether nitrile) as an interlaminar toughening option. Nonetheless, these materials exhibited a decline in flexural properties. To address this concern, we developed poly(arylene ether nitrile)-poly(ε-caprolactone) ultrafine hybrid fiber membranes via electrospinning to enhance the interlaminar performance of composite laminates. The interlaminar fracture toughness demonstrated a remarkable improvement of 132.5 %. Additionally, the flexural strength in-creased by at least 12.3 %, while the flexural modulus experienced a minimum in-crease of 17.9 %. The interlaminar shear strength improved by approximately 27%–28 %, and the impact strength increased by 99.2 %. This study demonstrates the significant potential of electrospun hybrid fiber membranes in improving the interlaminar properties of carbon fiber-epoxy composite laminates, con-tributing to developing safer and more durable materials for the aerospace industry.