IMPACT BEHAVIOR OF CARBON FIBER REINFORCED COMPOSITES HYBRIDIZED WITH HIGH MODULUS POLYPROPYLENE FIBERS

摘要

Carbon fiber reinforced thermoset polymer composites typically fail in a brittle and catastrophicrnmanner, and are susceptible to damage from impact. Introduction of a secondary reinforcingrnfiber to the composite part has been used to try to improve the damage tolerance of carbon fiberrncomposites. In this study, composite panel structures, made from hybrids of carbon fiber, highrnmodulus polypropylene fiber, and epoxy resin, were evaluated to ascertain the effect of thernhybrid fiber content and placement on the laminate on the mechanical properties and impactrnbehavior. Tensile strength and modulus were found to vary linearly with the volume percent ofrnthe high modulus polypropylene fiber, while both low and high velocity impact maximum loadrnat impact and absorbed energy to maximum load appeared to be relatively insensitive to fiberrnblend ratios.