Mechanical properties of woven fiberglass Composite interleaved with glass nanofibers”

The present study describes the processing and mechanical characterization of S-2 glass fiber, EPON 862-EPIKURE curing agent W composite with and without interleaved Tetra Ethyl Ortho silicate (TEOS) chemically engineered glass nanofibers manufactured viaK eyewleocrtrdos: p iknenyiwngord technique. Electrospun TEOS nanofibers were sintered to evaporate ethanol and reduce the fiber diameter to further increase the surface area and obtain chemically pure glass nanofibers. The heated Vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (H-VARTM) method was used to fabricate the composite panel using epoxy resin system under similar flow and curing conditions. Test specimens were cut using a water jet machine following ASTM test standards for tension, compression, in plane shear, interlaminar shear and iosipecu tests. Various mechanical properties that include strength, modulus, Poisson's ratio, shear modulus, fiber volume fraction and densities are measured; the corresponding modes of failure have been studied and compared. The S-2 glass fibers composites with electrospun TEOS nanofibers interface layers in the present study showed significant improvement in the in-plane shear strength and modulus, but only a slight enhancement in the tensile properties. However the compression strength and modulus as well as shear modulus showed a reduction. This could be due to pre-bend in the plies of the glass fiber and fold over elastic sizing due to the weave form of woven glass fiber. Estimated values of the elastic constants using simplified micromechanics equations for composite lamina are compared with experimental results. Present experimental results show significant improvement in the in-plane shear strength of the composite with electropsun nanofibers interface layers that could enhance the delamination characteristics of the S-2 fibers, epoxy composite system discussed in the present study.