Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5439730 | Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing | 2016 | 12 Pages |
Abstract
Delamination is a major drawback of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs). Studies have reported that carbon nanofibers (CNFs) can improve the delamination toughness of various FRPs. However, lack of CNF alignment control caused substantial uncertainty in the improvements. In this study, a novel CNFs z-threaded CFRP (ZT-CFRP), which utilized z-aligned CNFs as long-range reinforcement threading through the packed carbon fiber bed, was manufactured. The mode-I delamination toughness (GIC) of the ZT-CFRPs was tested against both control CFRPs and unaligned CNF-modified CFRPs (UA-CFRPs). Through statistical comparison against control CFRPs, UA-CFRPs exhibited a relative change in mean GIC and coefficient of variation of +13.99% and +116.35%, respectively, whereas the ZT-CFRPs of equivalent CNF concentration exhibited a relative change in mean GIC and coefficient of variation of +28.93% and â12.33%, respectively. Accordingly, the CNF z-threads were found to play a positive role in toughening CFRPs, as supported by delamination experiments and microscopy analysis.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Materials Science
Ceramics and Composites
Authors
Kuang-Ting Hsiao, Alexander M. Scruggs, John S. Jr., Gregory J.S. Hickman, Erin E. McDonald, Kendrick Henderson,