INTERLAYER TOUGHENED VARTM COMPOSITES USING PREFORMED PARTICLE TOUGHENED TACKIFIERS.

摘要

Vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) is targeted as a replacement for many prepreg systems in the manufacture of advanced polymeric composites due to the lower manufacturing costs. The requisite of homogeneous and low viscosity resin systems in order to perform ambient injection limits the use of conventional toughening techniques in VARTM applications. Therefore, preformed particle modified tackifiers were developed for VARTM applications so as to create interlayer toughened composites. In the present study, four different tackifier materials were developed and sprayed onto 3K-70 plain weave carbon fabric. The tackified laminates showed increased fracture toughness with no significant change in thermal properties.