Abstract
Carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminates are widely used in vessel side plate, underwater propeller, and submarine oil pipeline because they possess superior specific strength and hydrophobicity compared with metal materials. However, conventional CFRP laminates are limited by insufficient mechanical properties and incompetent water-repellent performance. Herein, a biomimetic double-helicoidal superhydrophobic laminate (BDHSL) was designed and manufactured through a method combining hot press forming and two-step spraying. The BDHSL was composed of double-helicoidal (inspired by coelacanth scale) carbon fiber prepreg and SiO2-based coating with multiscale hierarchical structures (inspired by lotus leaf), which displayed excellent mechanical properties and water-repellency. Besides, mechanical tests were carried out systematically. Remarkably, the peak impact force of the BDHSL at the impact energy of 20 J was 2865.25 N, which increased by 136.88% compared with traditional unidirectional laminate (UL 1209.56 N). Meanwhile, the finite element simulation was conducted using 3D Hashin's failure criteria. The simulation results showed that the predicted stress-deflection curve for four types of laminates correlated well with experimental results. Moreover, the water contact angle of BDHSL reached approximately 156.5°, which indicated its superhydrophobicity. What is more, the durability and water-repellency of the SiO2-based coatings were investigated, which further confirmed its potential underwater applicability. The investigations in this work offer a promising way to effectively design and fabricate exquisitely structured CFRP laminates with hierarchically textured coatings that are more suitable for various marine applications under practical conditions, such as offshore oil drilling platform, autonomous underwater vehicle, high-speed ship, and so forth.
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