The interlaminar performance of carbon fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone composites reinforced by doped buckypaper

Abstract

Carbon fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone (CF/PEEK) composites made by automated fiber placement (AFP) have interlaminar resin-rich zone defects, resulting in poor interlaminar mechanical performance. Buckypaper (BP) is a two-dimensional material made of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with good mechanical properties that can be used as an interlaminar reinforcement phase. In this study, the molecular dynamics method is used to create a microscopic interface model for CF/PEEK/BP nanocomposites to calculate the interface bonding energy. Furthermore, the interlaminar shear strength is tested by the short beam method. The results reveal that there is a good interface bonding between BP and CF/PEEK. The CF/PEEK laminates doped with BP can improve the interlaminar shear strength by 22.6%. Therefore, the interlaminar doped BP can realize CF/PEEK components with better interlaminar mechanical performance based on the high efficiency of AFP, which can further improve the application of CF/PEEK composites in the field of aerospace.