Synergetic effects of carbon nanotube and graphene addition on thermo-mechanical properties and vibrational behavior of twill carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites

Abstract

The effect of carbon based nanoparticles addition, such as Multi Wall Carbon Nanotube (MWCNTs) and Graphene Nano Platelets (GNPs), on mechanical and thermal properties of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites (CFRPs) was experimentally investigated. 2/2 twill woven carbon textile was used to fabricate the CFRP samples. The main aim of this study was to improve the weak interface behavior of carbon fibers with polymers by using its own nanoparticles in the structure of CFRPs. The obtained results from thermal tests, such as storage modulus, loss factors, glass transition temperature and loss weight percentage, were compared to reveal the influence of nanoparticles in the structure of CFRPs. The effects of MWCNTs and GNPs addition on natural frequency and damping ratio of multi scale composites were studied by using vibrational tests. The effect of nanoparticles addition on water uptake nature of CFRPs was investigated by hydrophobicity test. The results showed that MWCNT and GNP nanoparticles improved the mechanical and dynamic behavior of CFRP composite materials by improving the modulus of elasticity, tensile strength, flexural modulus, strength, ILSS, critical buckling load, and natural frequency. Furthermore, the thermal characteristics of CFRPs, such as storage modulus, thermal stability and thermal conductivity, were improved by the addition of carbon based nanoparticles. It was observed that the MWCNT multi scale composites had better performance than the GNP. According to the results of hydrophobicity test, the addition of MWCNTs enhanced the hydrophobic nature while the GNPs increased the hydrophilic nature of CFRPs.