Interlaminar reinforcement of carbon fiber composites using aligned carbon nanotubes

• Type: Article in International Conference Proceedings Book
• Date: 2017

Authors

Ni, X (Author) Other; Kalfon Cohen, E (Author) Other; Furtado, C (Author) FEUP; Kopp, R (Author) Other; Fritz, NK (Author) Other; Arterio, A (Author) FEUP; Valdes, GA (Author) Other; Hank, TJ (Author) Other; Bostnar, G (Author) Other; Mavrogordato, MN (Author) Other; Spearing, SM (Author) Other; Camanho, PP (Author) FEUP; Wardle, BL (Author) Other

Conference proceedings International

Title: ICCM International Conferences on Composite Materials

21st International Conference on Composite Materials, ICCM 2017

20 August 2017 through 25 August 2017

Indexing

Scopus - 13 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00P-MC7

Abstract (EN): Aligned nanoscale fibers (carbon nanotubes, CNTs) are used to reinforce the interlaminar resin-rich region of aerospace-grade unidirectional carbon fiber laminates in an architecture termed "nanostitching". Nanostitching leads to a hybrid architecture where aligned CNTs (A-CNTs) are integrated at the interface of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) plies. Here we manufacture nanostitched laminates and investigate the effect on laminate strength through ex situ and in situ mechanical testing. Short beam shear (SBS) and double edge notched tensile testing were conducted on both baseline and A-CNT reinforced laminates. No statistically significant change was found in SBS strength, however, a ~9% increase in tensile strength was observed in the double edge notched tensile tests. In situ tensile testing of the same double-edge notch configuration utilizing synchrotron radiation computed tomography (SRCT) showed little difference in damage accumulation between baseline and A-CNT reinforced laminates at 80% of failure stress, likely due to a general absence of delamination damage. Future work will focus on acquiring data at stress levels closer to ultimate failure in the double-edge notch configuration, testing configurations that exhibit delamination formation and growth in the damage progression, and improving preliminary modeling (results presented herein) to improve understanding of the different mechanisms at work.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific