Abstract
A study has been made of a concept of 'healing' coatings applied onto the brittle fibre surface to reduce the stress concentrations and thus to improve the reinforcing efficiency in a composite. Coatings made from neat epoxy and carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced epoxy nanocomposite were applied onto the individual glass fibres as well as rovings. It is shown that the 0.3 wt.% CNT-epoxy nanocomposite coating gave rise to a significant increase in tensile strength of the single fibre for all gauge lengths, better than the neat epoxy coating. The results on glass fibre roving also indicated a clear beneficial effect of nanocomposite impregnation on tensile strength. The rovings impregnated with the CNT nanocomposite exhibited a more uniform strength distribution and higher strengths than those impregnated with the neat epoxy. The changes in prevailing failure mechanisms influenced by the epoxy and nanocomposite coatings have been identified.
| Original language | British English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1606-1614 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 2009 |
Keywords
- A. Glass fibre
- A. Particle-reinforcement
- B. Fibre/matrix bond
- B. Strength
- Carbon nanotubes