Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
1466960 Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing 2010 9 Pages PDF
Abstract

This paper reports on a novel toughening concept based on dissolvable phenoxy fibres, which are added at the interlaminar region in a carbon fibre/epoxy composite. The composites were prepared by resin infusion of carbon fibre fabric with the phenoxy introduced as a chopped fibre interleaf between the carbon fibre plies. The thermoplastic phenoxy fibre dissolved in the epoxy during curing at elevated temperatures and a phase separated morphology with phenoxy-rich secondary phase was formed upon curing. It was found that the average Mode-I fracture toughness value, G1c increased tenfold with only 10 wt.% (with regard to the total matrix content) phenoxy fibre added. Other properties such as Young’s modulus, tensile strength and thermal stability were not adversely affected. The mechanical and thermal properties of the neat epoxy–phenoxy blends were also studied for comparison.

Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Materials Science Ceramics and Composites
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