Erosion characteristics and mechanical behavior of new structural hybrid fabric reinforced polyetherimide composites

In this work, a new structural hybrid fabric reinforced polyetherimide composite was prepared using a solution impregnation method. The effects of fabric orientation, i.e., the angle between the projected line of the impact path of the solid particle on the specimen surface and the axis of the polybenzoxazole (PBO) fibers, and weft density on the erosion behavior of the prepared hybrid composites were investigated. The results show that the erosion rates of the hybrid composites decreased with increasing fabric orientation angle and weft density. No obvious crimp of carbon fibers was observed in the cross-section of a hybrid fabric prepreg sheet, therefore composites with excellent mechanical properties can be obtained. The carbon fibers were covered with PBO fibers and resin, and these protect the carbon fibers from damage well. The prepared hybrid composites showed better erosion resistance than carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastics and better mechanical properties than PBO fiber reinforced thermoplastics. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed that the prepared hybrid composite has high heat resistance.