MECHANICAL PROPERTY CHARACTERIZATION OF MULTISCALE CARBON FIBERS AND CARBON NANOFIBERS REINFORCED POLYMER MATRIX COMPOSITE

摘要

Multiscale polymeric composite laminate reinforced by carbon micro-fibers (CFs) and carbon nanofibers (CNFs) is fabricated via an in-house developed prepreg and vacuum bag/compression molding process. The multiscale fiber system is expected to form a multiscale fiber reinforcement network inside the composite. As a result, the mechanical properties of the prepreg-processed multiscale composite laminate are expected to be different from the traditional carbon fiber reinforced composite laminate. This CNFs modified multiscale composite laminate is tested for its mechanical strength with respect to various important properties for composite aerostructures. The effects of the CNFs in the matrix sensitive properties and in the carbon micro-fiber dominated properties of the multiscale composite are revealed.