Abstract
Carbon fiber/epoxy (CF/EP) composites have been widely used as structural materials in many aerospace applications owing to their superior specific strength and specific elastic modulus. However, interlaminar delamination, the most common failure mode of these composite materials, often occurs due to the inherent brittleness of the epoxy matrix. In this study, a vacuum filtration method was used to fabricate carbon nanotube/polysulfone (CNT/PSF) paper as an interleaf to improve the interlaminar fracture toughness of CF/EP composite laminates. During the curing of epoxy resin, the PSF nanofibers were phase separated from the continuous epoxy matrix to form microspheres while the CNTs were dispersed homogeneously around the PSF. The combined effects of the PSF microspheres and CNTs on delamination toughness were investigated. Double-cantilever-beam (DCB) results showed that interleaving the laminates with CNT/PSF paper increased the mode I interlaminar toughness by 53%. DMA tests confirmed that better compatibility between PSF and epoxy could be achieved by adding CNTs. Also, the CNT/PSF interleaved laminates displayed slight increase in storage modulus near the epoxy glass transition temperature due to the reinforcing effect of CNTs.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |
| Externally published | Yes |
| Event | 20th International Conference on Composite Materials, ICCM 2015 - Copenhagen, Denmark Duration: 19 Jul 2015 → 24 Jul 2015 |
Conference
| Conference | 20th International Conference on Composite Materials, ICCM 2015 |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Denmark |
| City | Copenhagen |
| Period | 19/07/15 → 24/07/15 |
Keywords
- Carbon nanotubes
- Fibre composite
- Interlaminar fracture toughness
- Interleave
- Polysulfone
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Engineering
- Ceramics and Composites