MECHANICAL PERFORMANCE OF BUCKYPAPER INSERTED CARBON-FIBER-REINFORCED COMPOSITE LAMINATES

Carbon-based micro or nanofillers reinforced carbon fiber are becoming popular for various applications due to their exceptional properties and low mass density. A small fraction of the fillers enhance the mechanical and electrical properties of the composite material by a few orders of magnitude. The main issue is the uniform distribution of these fillers into the material. When these materials are added to the matrix, they become more viscous and agglomerate due to the high aspect ratio and van der Walls attraction forces. Agglomeration causes the collection of bundles of these nanomaterials together, distributing them unevenly in the matrix. To avoid these, researchers used mechanical or chemical functionalization. Mechanical functionalization is time-consuming and breaks the fillers, while chemical functionalization techniques are lengthy and specialized for specialized material systems. These researchers used two-dimensional nanomaterials like PAN/PVP-based electrospun nanofiber mat, graphene-based papers, or carbon nanotube-based buckypaper to enhance the composite material properties. The present work manufactured the composite laminates using non-crimp carbon fabric MTM-45-1 prepreg in conjunction with 60gsm buckypaper from Nanotech lab at the mid-plane. The researchers analyzed their effect on mechanical properties such as interlaminar strength (GIC), flexural strength and modulus, short beam shear strength, and indentation hardness. Weak binding between Graphene and matrix resulted in degraded fracture toughness. The present research work used a lattice structure with vertical and horizontal grids to enhance the matrix-buckypaper binding, and the effects of lattice structure were evaluated. Electrical conductivity analyses were done using a Four-point probe to check the feasibility of using buckypaper to send electrical signals for applications such as health monitoring and electric shield for the composite material. The study suggested that the composite laminates fabricated using lattice bucky paper structure showed improved interlaminar strength compared to those manufactured without lattice buckypaper structure.