Study of mode II interlaminar fracture toughness of laminated composites of glass and jute fibres in epoxy for structural applications

Composites are being used in the place of metals in many industries as they have a lower density and are cheaper than metals. In aerospace industries there is requirement for light weight together with strength, and reinforced fibre composites are superior in some critical properties compared with metals. In this study, laminated composites were fabricated with woven E-glass and jute fibres in an epoxy matrix by a hand layup method. The samples were prepared as per the relevant the America Society for Testing ad Materials (ASTM) standard and tested for mode II interlaminar fracture toughness to investigate delamination resistance. Mode II interlaminar fracture toughness was evaluated by an end-notched flexure test using three-point bending. The fracture toughness G IIC was calculated for a curing temperature range from 40 °C to 70 °C at intervals of 5 °C for different sets of laminated composites. The investigations revealed that when the curing temperature of laminated composites was increased from 40 °C to 70 °C, the interlaminar fracture toughness G IIC was increased in neat woven E-glass laminated composites, decreased in neat jute laminated composites, significantly increased in laminated composites with woven E-glass fibres in compression and jute fibres in tension and slightly increased when woven E-glass fibres were kept in tension and jute fibres in compression.

Enhancing the Interlaminar Fracture Toughness and AO Resistance of CFRPs by Using Phosphorus-Containing Polymer/PEC-K Bifunctional Film

A new attempt to use a bifunctional interleaf for developing a novel structure–function-integrated composite with simultaneously improved interlaminar fracture toughness and atomic oxygen resistance was studied. The toughening mechanism and the atomic oxygen erosion property of the delaminated surfaces of the composites were examined. The bifunctional interleaf was prepared by blending a phosphorus-containing polymer and a thermoplastic polymer. After being interleaved, the mode I and mode II fracture toughness increased by 8.2% and 23.7% compared to the control sample, respectively. The toughness gains are much smaller than that of the only thermoplastic film-toughened composite because of the relative brittleness of the blend film. The atomic oxygen erosion rates of the mode I and mode II delamination surfaces decreased by 45.3% and 31.3% compared with the control, respectively. The carbon fibers on the irradiation surfaces are protected by a layer of phosphine oxide to prevent further erosion, and they were much less eroded, particularly for the mode I surface. In comparison, the erosion rates of the mode I and mode II surfaces of the toughened-only composite significantly increased by 83.6% and 107.2%, respectively, and the carbon fibers are seriously eroded.

Preparation of Polyimide Nanofiber Membranes and Interlaminar Toughness Investigation of Their Toughened Composites

Interlaminar delamination and brittle fracture of matrix have been a dilemma that fiber-reinforced composites have been faced with. Herein, the polyimide (PI) nanofiber-toughened glass fiber fiber-reinforced epoxy composites were prepared by electrospinning method and subsequent vacuum assistant resin transfer molding. The effect of spinning parameters including PI concentration, applied voltage, collector distance, jet speed and ambient humidity on the resultant fiber diameter and its distribution was systematically evaluated. The surface properties of obtained PI nanofibers were characterized by FT-IR, TG-DSC and water contact angle. The effect of PI concentration on tensile strength of PI membranes was also studied. The mode I (G[Formula: see text] and mode II (G[Formula: see text] interlaminar fracture toughness were measured. The results indicated that GIc and GIIc increased by 127.69% and 85.33%. The improvement of interlaminar fracture toughness may be attributed to the bridging effect of PI nanofibers.