Fabrication and characterization of carbon fiber reinforced clay/epoxy composite

In this study, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and flexural tests were performed on unfilled, 1, 2, 3, and 4 wt% clay filled SC-15 epoxy to identify the effect of clay weight fraction on thermal and mechanical properties of the epoxy matrix. The flexural results indicate that 2.0 wt% clay filled epoxy showed the highest improvement in flexural strength. DMA studies also revealed that 2.0 wt% system exhibit the highest storage modulus and T _g as compared to neat and other weight fraction. However, TGA results show that thermal stability of composite is insensitive to the clay content. Based on these results, the nanophased epoxy with 2 wt% clay was then utilized in a vacuum assisted resin transfer molding set up with carbon fabric to fabricate laminated composites. The effectiveness of clay addition on thermal and mechanical properties of composites has been evaluated by TGA, DMA, tensile, flexural, and fatigue test. 5 °C increase in glass transition temperature was found in nanocomposite, and the tensile and flexural strengths improved by 5.7 and 13.5 %, respectively as compared to the neat composite. The fatigue strength was also improved significantly. Based on the experimental result, a linear damage model combined with the Weibull distribution function has been established to describe static failure processing of neat and nanophased carbon/epoxy. The simulated stress–strain curves from the model are in good agreement with the test data. Simulated results show that damage processing of neat and nanophased carbon/epoxy described by bimodal Weibull distribution function.     

Improvements in mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties of e-glass/epoxy composites using amino functionalized MWCNTs

The prime objective of this work is to optimize the mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties of e-glass/epoxy composites by utilizing amino-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs–NH₂) through a combination of dispersion method. At first, 0.1–0.4 wt.% of MWCNT–NH₂ was integrated into SC-15 epoxy suspension using a combination of ultra-sonication and calendaring techniques. E-glass/epoxy nanocomposites were than fabricated at elevated temperature with the modified resin using hand layup and compression hot press. 3-Point flexural and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) results demonstrated a linearly increasing trend in properties from 0 to 0.3 wt.% loading. Micrographs of MWCNTs incorporated epoxy and e-glass/epoxy samples revealed uniform dispersion of MWCNTs in epoxy, good interfacial adhesion between CNTs and polymer, and improved interfacial bonding between fiber/matrix at 0.3 wt.% loading. An improved dispersion and hence an improved crosslink interaction between MWCNT–NH₂ and epoxy lead to the stronger shift of the mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties of the composites.     

Effect vapor grown carbon nanofiber on thermal and mechanical properties of epoxy

In the present investigation, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA), tensile tests, fatigue tests and the single edge notch tensile (SENT) tests were performed on unfilled, 1, 2 and 3 wt.% vapor grown carbon nanofiber (CNF) filled SC-15 epoxy to identify the loading effect on thermal and mechanical properties of the composites. DMA studies revealed that filling the 3% carbon nanofiber into epoxy can produce 65% enhancement in storage modulus at room temperature and 6 °C increase in T _g. However, TGA results show that thermal stability of composite is insensitive to the CNF content. Tensile tests were carried out at the strain rate range from 0.02 min⁻¹ to 2 min⁻¹. Results show that CNF/epoxy are strain rate sensitive materials, the modulus and tensile strength increased with increasing of strain rate. Experimental results also indicate that modulus of the nanophased epoxy increases continuously with increasing CNF content. But the 2% CNF infusion system exhibit maximum enhancement in tensile strength, fatigue performance and fracture toughness as compared with other system.     

Effects of silane-modified carbon nanotubes on flexural and fracture behaviors of carbon nanotube-modified epoxy/basalt composites

We investigated the effects of carbon nanotube (CNT) modification with silane on the flexural and fracture behaviors of modified carbon nanotube epoxy/basalt (CNT/epoxy/basalt) composites. Flexural and mode I fracture tests were performed using acid-treated and silane-treated CNT/epoxy/basalt composites, respectively. FT-IR analysis was conducted to determine the chemical change on the surface of basalt fiber due to the silane modification. After the fracture tests, the fracture surfaces of the CNT/epoxy/basalt composites were examined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to investigate the fracture mechanisms of the CNT/epoxy/basalt composites, depending on the CNT modification. The results show that the flexural modulus and strength of silane-treated CNT/epoxy/basalt composites are ～10% and ～14% greater, respectively, than those of acid-treated CNT/epoxy/basalt composites. The fracture toughness G_Ic of silane-treated CNT/epoxy/basalt composites was ～40% greater than that of acid-treated CNT/epoxy/basalt composites. SEM examination revealed that the improvement in the flexural and fracture properties of silane-treated CNT/epoxy/basalt composites occurred due to enhanced dispersion and interfacial interaction between the silane-modified CNTs and the epoxy.     

碳纤维增强羟基磷灰石/环氧树脂复合材料的制备与力学性能

采用树脂传递模塑(RTM)工艺制备了碳纤维增强环氧树脂以及碳纤维增强羟基磷灰石(HA)/环氧树脂两种复合材料，并测试了其力学性能。结果表明，RTM工艺可以基本保证环氧基体均匀浸入碳纤维织物内部。碳纤维增强HA，环氧复合材料的冲击韧性高于碳纤维增强环氧复合材料，而弯曲强度和弯曲模量低于碳纤维增强环氧复合材料。两种复合材料的弯曲强度远高于人体皮质骨，弯曲模量与皮质骨非常接近。动态力学分析(DMA)表明加入HA后，复合材料的贮存模量和内耗降低，玻璃化转变温度升高。     

Mode I interlaminar fracture behavior and mechanical properties of CFRPs with nanoclay-filled epoxy matrix

The mechanical properties and fracture behavior of nanocomposites and carbon fiber composites (CFRPs) containing organoclay in the epoxy matrix have been investigated. Morphological studies using TEM and XRD revealed that the clay particles within the epoxy resin were intercalated or orderly exfoliated. The organoclay brought about a significant improvement in flexural modulus, especially in the first few wt% of loading, and the improvement of flexural modulus was at the expense of a reduction in flexural strength. The quasi-static fracture toughness increased, whereas the impact fracture toughness dropped sharply with increasing the clay content.Flexural properties of CFRPs containing organoclay modified epoxy matrix generally followed the trend similar to the epoxy nanocomposite although the variation was much smaller for the CFRPs. Both the initiation and propagation values of mode I interlaminar fracture toughness of CFRP composites increased with increasing clay concentration. In particular, the propagation fracture toughness almost doubled with 7 wt% clay loading. A strong correlation was established between the fracture toughness of organoclay-modified epoxy matrix and the CFRP composite interlaminar fracture toughness.     

Localized elastic modulus distribution of nanoclay/epoxy composites by using nanoindentation

The enhancement of mechanical properties by the use of nanoclay platelets in epoxy resin has been extensively investigated through numerous experimental techniques recently. Elastic modulus was obtained mainly from the tensile test of bone-like nanoclay/epoxy specimens. The results from the tensile test have only showed the globalized mechanical properties of composites and their localized elastic modulus distribution has been neglected. Despite the orientation and the degree of exfoliation of nanoclay platelets inside nanoclay/epoxy composites, the localized elastic modulus is important for the understanding of the distribution of agglomerations of nanoclay platelets. The elastic modulus of nanoclay/epoxy composite samples made under different sonication temperatures would be examined by nanoindentation to compare their localized mechanical behaviors. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) would also be employed to study the distribution of the nanoclay clusters throughout the composites. The results showed that the elastic modulus varied throughout the composites and the nucleation theory of clusters was modified to explain the behavior of nanoclay agglomerations under different sonication temperatures in which the viscosity of the epoxy resin was varied. The gravitational effect was significant to cause the non-uniform distributions of nanoclay clusters at low sonication temperature.     

Evaluation on the thermal and mechanical properties of HNT-toughened epoxy/carbon fibre composites

Halloysite nanotubes (HNT) were effectively incorporated into epoxy resin and used for infusion of carbon fibre textiles, resulting in epoxy/halloysite nanotube/carbon fibre (EP/HNT/CF) multi-scale composites. The distribution of nanotubes in the composites was examined by SEM. The thermomechanical properties of the composites were characterized by dynamic mechanical analyser (DMA). A 25% enhancement was recorded for the storage modulus of EP/HNT/CF composite in the glassy state. Moreover, the T_g of the laminates increased with the addition of HNT, and the values were even higher than the T_g of their matrix. Additionally, the Izod impact strength of the composites has been improved. These results indicate a synergistic effect between HNT and carbon fibres.     

Mechanical Properties of Thermoplastic and Thermoset Composites Reinforced with 3D Biaxial Warp-knitted Fabrics

In this study, two types of thermoplastic matrices (low melting point polyethylene terephthalate (LPET) fiber and polypropylene (PP) fiber) and glass fiber/epoxy resin/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were used to fabricate the thermoplastic and thermoset composite materials with 3D biaxial warp-knitted fabrics. Thermoplastic and thermoset composites were fabricated using hot-press and resin transfer molding (RTM) methods. The fabricated samples were tested with tensile and three-point flexural tests. In thermoplastic composites, samples in the 90° direction and LPET matrix showed the best tensile and flexural properties with an improvement of 39 and 21% tensile modulus and strength, 16 and 8% flexural modulus and strength compared to the PP samples in the same direction. In thermoset composites, samples in the 90° direction and MWCNTs showed the best improvement of the flexural modulus and strength with 97 and 58% compared to the samples without MWCNTs. This improvement can most likely be attributed to an increase in interfacial adhesion due to the presence of the carbon nanotubes.     

热氧老化对碳纤维织物增强聚合物基复合材料弯曲性能的影响

为了探索增强体结构对碳纤维增强聚合物基复合材料(CF-PMCs)热氧老化后弯曲性能的影响,对三维四向编织碳纤维/环氧复合材料(简称为三维编织复合材料)和层合平纹碳布/环氧复合材料(简称为层合复合材料)的热氧老化性能进行了研究。利用FTIR、老化失重、弯曲测试和SEM等手段分析了热氧老化前后的试样。结果表明:热氧老化导致基体树脂的氧化断链以及纤维/基体界面结合力的退化是两种复合材料弯曲强度和弯曲模量下降的原因,弯曲强度比弯曲模量更容易受热氧老化的影响。在相同的热氧老化条件下,层合复合材料的热氧老化失重大于三维编织复合材料的,而三维编织复合材料的弯曲强度和弯曲模量保留率均大于层合复合材料的。在140℃下老化1 200h后,层合复合材料的弯曲强度和弯曲模量保留率分别为74.7%和88.3%,而对应的三维编织复合材料的分别为79.4%和91.5%。因此,采用三维编织预制件作为CF-PMCs的增强体是一种有效的提高其热氧稳定性的方法。     

Flexural fatigue damage analyses of recycled rubber‐modified epoxy‐based composites reinforced with alumina fibres

Manufacturers have been working towards finding clean and cost‐efficient solutions by utilizing recycled materials to produce new components. Recycled rubber is one such material widely used in aeronautic and automotive industries. In this study, fresh scrap ethylene‐propylene‐diene‐monomer (EPDM) rubber is mixed with epoxy to manufacture novel composites with the addition of alumina (Al₂O₃) fibres. These composites can potentially be used to manufacture components subjected to cyclic loading, and to ensure reliability of such components, fatigue behaviour of these composites should be evaluated. This article describes the manufacturing of recycled rubber‐modified epoxy‐based ternary composites and their fatigue behaviour as well as toughening mechanisms. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) was performed to determine thermomechanical properties. Three‐point bending and flexural fatigue tests and Shore D hardness measurements were carried out to determine mechanical properties. After static/fatigue fracture, fracture surfaces were observed with scanning electron microscope (SEM) to determine toughening mechanisms in these composites.     

Reinforcing hydroxyapatite/thermosetting epoxy composite with 3-D carbon fiber fabric through RTM processing

Bioactive ceramic/polymer composites have been developed in the orthopaedic field in recent years. In this work, three-dimensional (3-D) carbon fiber fabric is used to reinforce hydroxyapatite (HA)/thermosetting epoxy composite and epoxy resin through resin transfer molding (RTM) processing. It is found that the 3-D carbon fiber fabric can be impregnated with epoxy and HA-containing epoxy resin, and HA is distributed gradually along the depth direction in fiber-reinforced HA/epoxy composite, although HA is dispersed evenly in epoxy resin by surface modification of silane coupling agent. The impact toughness and flexural strength of fiber-reinforced epoxy and fiber-reinforced HA/epoxy composites are much higher than those of epoxy and HA/epoxy composite. The impact toughness of both fiber-reinforced composites decreases while the flexural strength and the flexural modulus increase with fiber volume ratio. The impact toughness of the fiber-reinforced HA/epoxy composite is higher, while the flexural strength and modulus are lower than those of the fiber-reinforced epoxy composite at the same fiber volume ratio. The flexural strength of the both composites is higher than, and their flexural modulus is close to, those of the human cortical bone. The in vitro cytotoxicity test with L929 fibroblasts shows that the addition of HA diminished the toxicity of epoxy resin.     

静电植绒法处理多壁碳纳米管改性玻纤织物/环氧树脂复合材料的制备及力学性能

为提高玻纤增强环氧树脂复合材料的力学性能,采用静电植绒法将多壁碳纳米管(MWCNTs)附着在玻纤织物表面,得到改性的玻纤织物。利用一种低黏度的环氧树脂和所制得的改性织物,采用真空辅助成型工艺(VARI)制备了MWCNTs改性格玻纤织物/环氧树脂复合材料层合板,表征了层合板的力学性能。对进行力学实验后的MWCNTs改性玻纤织物/环氧树脂复合材料试样断口进行了SEM和OPM观察。结果显示:与未添加MWCNTs的玻纤织物/环氧树脂复合材料层合板相比,添加了MWCNTs的层合板的拉伸强度降低了10.24%,弯曲强度降低了13.90%,压缩强度降低了17.33%,拉伸模量和弯曲模量分别提高了19.38%和16.04%,压缩模量提高了13%;MWCNTs与玻纤织物之间的结合较弱,在拉伸作用下,存在明显的脱粘和分层;将改性玻纤织物在200℃下热压处理2h后,制备的MWCNTs改性玻纤织物/环氧树脂复合材料层合板的力学性能均有所提高,热压处理后树脂与玻纤织物之间的界面结合得到改善。     

CNTs强化碳纤维/环氧复合材料界面过渡层及其对界面性能的影响

采用上浆的方法将碳纳米管(CNTs)引入到碳纤维表面,制备CF/CNTs/环氧多尺度复合材料。相比上浆处理前,复合材料的层间剪切强度及弯曲强度分别提高了13.54%和12.88%。采用力调制原子力显微镜及扫描电镜的线扫描功能对复合材料界面相精细结构进行分析。结果表明:CNTs的引入在纤维和基体间构建了一种CNTs增强环氧树脂的界面过渡层。该界面过渡层具有一定厚度,且其模量和碳元素含量呈梯度分布。在固化成型前对含有CNTs的复合材料进行超声处理,促使碳纤维表面的CNTs向周围树脂中分散,发现复合材料的界面过渡层被弱化,其层间剪切强度及弯曲强度较超声处理前分别下降了7.33%和5.34%,验证了CNTs强化的界面过渡层对于提高复合材料界面性能的重要作用。     

Excellent flexural properties of aminimide-cured epoxy resin as a matrix for mica-dispersed polymer composites

The flexural behaviour of mica-dispersed epoxy resin composites has been examined. The flexural strength and flexural modulus have been determined as a function of the volume fraction of mica flakes (V _f) for both aminimide-cured epoxy resin matrix and a conventional epoxy resin reference matrix. On the basis of microscopic observation of fractured surfaces, the effect of improving the particle-matrix interface has been analysed using the modulus reduction factor (MRF) in a modified form. It is found that there is a steady increase in the flexural modulus with the volume fraction of mica flake for the aminimide-cured epoxy resin matrix. In contrast, the increase in flexural modulus levels off at a high content of filler for the reference samples. It is noteworthy that the intact mica flakes without surface treatment exhibit a substantial reinforcing effect on the flexural strength in the case of aminimide-cured epoxy resin composites. A further surprise is the difference among the curing agents used. The reference epoxy resins behave just like conventional matrix resins, exhibiting 30 to 40% reduction in the flexural strength when a small fraction of mica is added. These superior properties of the matrix resin for the composites are ascribed to the characteristics of aminimide-cured epoxy resins such as hardness, toughness, and excellent adhesivity.     

碳纤维/TiO2改性树脂复合材料的制备及力学性能

针对环氧树脂脆性大、与碳纤维形成的界面性能较差等问题,本文选用纳米TiO₂对5284环氧树脂进行改性,并以角联锁机织物为增强体制备了碳纤维/环氧树脂复合材料。使用FT-IR、旋转流变仪、表面张力仪等设备对TiO₂/环氧树脂进行表征,并研究了树脂改性对复合材料压缩与层间剪切性能的影响。研究表明：TiO₂的羟基与环氧树脂的环氧基和羟基发生了反应;经1wt.%TiO₂改性的树脂复数黏度为0.066 Pa·s,纤维与树脂间接触角为28.85°,浸润效果较好;相较于未改性复合材料,树脂改性的复合材料纵向压缩强度与模量分别提高了7.46%和11.03%,横向压缩强度与模量分别提高了6.99%和4.96%,纵向、横向的剪切强度分别提高了6.88%和4.65%。TiO₂改性环氧树脂提高了复合材料的承载能力,改善了界面结合强度。     

纳米TiO2改性环氧涂层对玻璃纤维/不饱和聚酯复合材料紫外-凝露老化特性的影响

通过紫外-凝露加速老化试验,考察了纳米TiO₂改性环氧涂层对玻璃纤维/不饱和聚酯复合材料各种性能的影响。研究了紫外-凝露环境中不同纳米TiO₂含量的纳米TiO₂改性环氧涂层的颜色及硬度变化。并研究了未涂覆涂层、涂覆环氧涂层及2wt%TiO₂改性环氧涂层的玻璃纤维/不饱和聚酯复合材料的颜色变化、质量变化、弯曲性能及剪切性能变化规律。发现紫外-凝露环境下老化90天后未涂覆涂层、涂覆环氧涂层及2wt% TiO₂改性环氧涂层玻璃纤维/不饱和聚酯复合材料弯曲强度分别下降了14.7%、10.0%和9.2%,弯曲模量分别下降了5.9%、5.4%和3.2%。考虑紫外、湿度、温度共同作用,对古尼耶夫剩余强度公式进行修正,预测了纳米 TiO₂改性环氧涂层玻璃纤维/不饱和聚酯复合材料的寿命。      

Processing,characterization, and modeling of carbon nanotube-reinforced multiscale composites

Carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy composites modified with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were fabricated and characterized. High-energy sonication was used to disperse CNTs in the resin, followed by infiltration of fiber preform with the resin/CNT mixture. The effects of sonication time on the mechanical properties of “multiscale” composites, which contain reinforcements at varying scales, were studied. A low CNT loading of 0.3 wt% in resin had little influence on tensile properties, while it improved the flexural modulus, strength, and percent strain to break by 11.6%, 18.0%, and 11.4%, respectively, as compared to the control carbon fiber/epoxy composite. While sonication is an effective method to disperse CNTs in a resin, duration, intensity, and temperature need to be controlled to prevent damages imposed on CNTs and premature resin curing. A combination of Halpin–Tsai equations and woven fiber micromechanics was used in hierarchy to predict the mechanical properties of multiscale composites, and the discrepancies between the predicted and experimental values are explained.     

Strain rate sensitivity of glass/epoxy composites with nanofillers

It is understood that small amount of nanoclay in the neat epoxy and fiber reinforced epoxy composite system improves the mechanical properties. The mechanical properties of most of polymer matrix composites are rate sensitive. Most of the researches have concentrated on the behavior of the polymer composites at high strain rates. The present research work is to study the effect of clay on neat epoxy and glass/epoxy composites, at low strain rates. The clay in terms of 1.5, 3 and 5 wt% are dispersed in the epoxy resin using mechanical stirrer followed by sonication process. The glass/epoxy nanocomposites are prepared by impregnating the glass fiber with epoxy–clay mixture by hand lay-up process followed by compression molding. Characterization of the nanoclay is done by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Tensile stress–strain curves are obtained at strain rates of 10⁻⁴, 10⁻³, 10⁻² and 10⁻¹ s⁻¹ by a servo-hydraulic machine and the variation of modulus, strength and failure strain with strain rate are determined. The results show that, even at low strain rates, the longitudinal strength and stiffness increase as strain rate increases for all clay loadings. It is observed that the tensile modulus increases as the clay loading increases for both epoxy and glass/epoxy nanocomposites. Scanning electron microscopy is used to study the adhesion of composites in fracture surfaces.     

三维编织碳复合材料的制备及其力学性能研究

采用真空辅助RTM工艺制备了三维编织碳纤维增强环氧树脂(C3D/EP)复合材料,通过对树脂的粘度特性和固化特性的分析,确定了最佳的工艺参数.金相显微镜对复合材料微观结构的观察表明树脂对纤维的浸润良好.同时,还研究了该工艺制备的C3D/EP复合材料的力学性能,结果表明随着纤维体积比的增加,复合材料的硬度、弯曲强度和冲击强度均提高,断口的扫描电镜观察表明复合材料的破坏方式是以脆性断裂为主.