Abstract
The processing characteristics and mechanical properties of glass fabric reinforcements coated with graphene nanoparticles were investigated. Graphene was coated onto either one or both sides of a plain weave glass fabric. The coated fabrics were investigated to measure key process characterization parameters used for vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) process which are, reinforcement compaction response, in-plane, and transverse permeability. It was found that graphene coated glass reinforcements were stiffer than the pure glass reinforcements which will have direct influence on final fiber volume fraction obtained during VARTM processing. The permeability measurement results show that the graphene coated reinforcements filled relatively slower compared with the pure glass samples. Composite samples were then tested for flexural and low velocity impact. The initial results show that the flexural modulus did not change as the wt % of graphene increases. However, a decrease in flexural strength with increasing wt % of graphene was observed. It was also observed that the coating of graphene on glass reinforcements caused delamination between plies and resisted localized damage under low velocity impact as compared to pure glass samples.
Highlights
Graphene is the basic structural unit of some carbon allotropes including graphite, carbon nanotubes, and fullerenes with promising mechanical, electrical, optical, thermal and magnetic properties [1,2,3,4]
In this study the effects of exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets on the processing characteristics and mechanical properties of glass fabric composites fabricated by the vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) process were investigated
The large surface area of exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets is one of the most attractive characteristics of this kind of nanoparticles, which facilitates creating a large interface area in a nanocomposite. In this investigation, exfoliated graphite dispersions will be coated onto the surface of glass fabric reinforcements
Summary
Graphene is the basic structural unit of some carbon allotropes including graphite, carbon nanotubes, and fullerenes with promising mechanical, electrical, optical, thermal and magnetic properties [1,2,3,4]. The presence of nanoclay into fiber glass/epoxy composites lead to a more intense formation of delaminated areas after a low-velocity impact test. This phenomenon was attributed to interlaminar shear forces caused by the intercalated nanostructures inside the epoxy system. In this study the effects of exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets on the processing characteristics and mechanical properties of glass fabric composites fabricated by the VARTM process were investigated. The large surface area of exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets is one of the most attractive characteristics of this kind of nanoparticles, which facilitates creating a large interface area in a nanocomposite In this investigation, exfoliated graphite dispersions will be coated onto the surface of glass fabric reinforcements. Composite structures containing nanoplatelets will be subjected to mechanical tests to study the influence of nanoplatelets on mechanical performance and fracture behavior under impact loading
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