Monitoring Damage Propagation in Glass Fiber Composites Using Carbon Nanofibers.

Ahmed Al-Sabagh,Gamal-Abdelnaser Nasr,Eman Taha,Usama Kandil,Mahmoud Reda Taha

doi:10.3390/nano6090169

Ahmed Al-Sabagh, Gamal-Abdelnaser Nasr + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/nano6090169

Copy DOI

Abstract

In this work, we report the potential use of novel carbon nanofibers (CNFs), dispersed during fabrication of glass fiber composites to monitor damage propagation under static loading. The use of CNFs enables a transformation of the typically non-conductive glass fiber composites into new fiber composites with appreciable electrical conductivity. The percolation limit of CNFs/epoxy nanocomposites was first quantified. The electromechanical responses of glass fiber composites fabricated using CNFs/epoxy nanocomposite were examined under static tension loads. The experimental observations showed a nonlinear change of electrical conductivity of glass fiber composites incorporating CNFs versus the stress level under static load. Microstructural investigations proved the ability of CNFs to alter the polymer matrix and to produce a new polymer nanocomposite with a connected nanofiber network with improved electrical properties and different mechanical properties compared with the neat epoxy. It is concluded that incorporating CNFs during fabrication of glass fiber composites can provide an innovative means of self-sensing that will allow damage propagation to be monitored in glass fiber composites.

Highlights

In recent years, textile fabric composites have attracted widespread attention owing to their superior properties, making them attractive materials for many applications like smart fabrics and the aerospace, marine, and automobile industries [1,2]
It was observed that a significant improvement in the electrical conductivity of carbon nanofibers (CNFs)/epoxy nanocomposite is achieved with a percolation threshold equal to 1.5 wt %
The electromechanical behavior of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) incorporating 2.0 wt % CNFs was examined under monotonically increased static loading

Summary

Introduction

Textile fabric composites have attracted widespread attention owing to their superior properties, making them attractive materials for many applications like smart fabrics and the aerospace, marine, and automobile industries [1,2]. In particular, are being widely researched currently due to their relatively high strength-to-weight ratio at low cost. The properties of glass fiber textile-reinforced polymer composites greatly depend on the fabric structure as well as the matrix properties. Many attempts have been made to improve their properties for high performance textile fabric composites. Several studies reported considerable improvement in fracture toughness of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) when fumed silica, carbon black, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) [3] and carbon nanofibers (CNFs) [4] were incorporated in polymer nanocomposites. The tensile strength of GFRP was improved using carbon nanofibers [5] and CNTs [6]. Significant enhancements in thermal and electrical conductivities of GFRP with carbon nanomaterials were reported [7,8,9]

Methods

Results

Conclusion