On the improvement of toughness of CFRPs with resin doped with CNF and PZT particles

The fracture toughness of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates doped with carbon nanofibers (CNF) and/or piezoelectric (PZT) particles were investigated. An increase of 100% in fracture energy was observed after the addition of 1% CNF in the matrix of the laminates. The investigation of the fracture surfaces showed extensive fiber bridging because of the presence of CNFs, which verifies the enhanced fracture properties. On the other hand the introduction of PZT particles led to reduction in fracture toughness, mainly due to the brittle character of the particle inclusions.