Abstract
AbstractResin Film Infusion (RFI) has been used to fabricate composites with continuous unidirectional E‐glass and epoxy with low weight fractions of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in matrix. An ultrasound‐assisted dissolution‐evaporation method with thermoplastics or block copolymers as dispersing agents for nanoparticles enabled uniform dispersion of CNTs in the resin. Rheological characterization of CNT‐filled epoxy revealed that viscosity, and hence processing of the resin remains unaffected as compared to pristine resin at elevated temperatures of subsequent composite manufacturing. Local flow of the modified resin through the sandwiched fabric plies in RFI process as against the global flow in traditional liquid composite molding processes, made sure that uniform distribution of nanoparticles is accomplished throughout the composite. Compressive properties of hybrid composites improved considerably with CNTs at loading fractions as low as 0.2 wt %. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013
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