Investigation of the fracture resistance in hoop wound composites modified with two different reactive oligomers

Rubber modification of hoop filament wound epoxy composites was investigated using amine-terminated butadiene acrylonitrile (ATBN) and carboxyl-terminated butadiene acrylonitrile (CTBN) oligomers. Both mechanical and physical properties of modified composites were investigated and the morphology of the samples was studied via scanning electron microscopy. Results indicated that, when added to the epoxy matrix, ATBN effected a superior increase in toughness, yet a more severe decline in compressive and flexural strength, compared to CTBN. In contrast, in the case of composite samples, incorporation of ATBN led to more favorable mechanical properties, from the viewpoint of both toughness and strength, relative to CTBN. This curious observation was generally attributed to the different amounts of rubber–epoxy precipitation and fiber–matrix adhesion, as well as various degrees of cavitation.