Enhancement of Mechanical Properties in Glass Fiber Epoxy Composites Using Nanomaterials

Abstract

the delamination resistance of composites without degrading the in-plane properties is one of key challenges faced by composite manufacturers and researchers. Adding nano-materials in the resin have been shown to have positive effect on delamination resistance. Aligning these fibers in through thickness direction within the matrix is expected to result in further improvement. Thus, in this study a novel technique, which used a combination of sonication and magnetic field application across the molding set up, was adapted to align the multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) through the thickness direction. Resin infusion technique is selected for this purpose. In order to get optimized and valid results, design of experiments (DOE) with Taguchi Approach was utilized with two control factors and with three levels each. Two composite specimen groups were fabricated using vacuum-assisted resin infusion (VARI) molding; one with using magnetic field and another without the magnetic field, were prepared. The mechanical properties, including interlaminar shear strength (ILSS), flexural strength, flexural elastic modulus (E) were measured and compared. The experimental results indicate improvement in the interlaminar/interfacial properties of the magnetized composites with low weight percentage CNT loading when compared to the samples with the same CNTs weight percentages. Increased ILSS results in decreasing delamination, an increase in the out of plane loading capacity and bending resistance.