Material characterization of several resin systems for high temperature carbon fiber reinforced composites

Abstract

Material characterization of several resin systems for high temperature carbon fiber reinforced composites was performed through a series of the tensile test, the dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) test, and the strand test. The modified tensile specimens and the DMA specimens were used to evaluate the tensile and thermal analysis properties of resin systems. The strand specimens were used to evaluate the tensile properties and load transfer efficiencies of the specimens. Four types of resin systems were considered. One was a conventional resin system currently used for filament wound structures and other three were high temperature resin systems. According to the tensile and DMA test results, the tensile modulus decreases slightly and the tensile strength decreases rapidly until the temperature reaches glass transition temperature. The tensile modulus and tensile strength are almost negligible above glass transition temperature. The tensile modulus obtained from the tensile test is consistent with that from the DMA test at different temperatures. From the strand test results, considering, the load transfer efficiency is found to be around 87 to 90 % of the tensile strength of T800H-12K carbon fibers for all resin systems except the specimen with the Type 2. Finally we found that the Type 4 is the best candidate for high temperature resin system applicable to filament wound structures in the view of the glass transition temperature as well as the tensile properties.