The effect of MWCNTs on the mechanical properties of woven Kevlar/epoxy composites

摘要

This manuscript presents an experimental investigation on the effect of Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) addition on the tensile, flexural and impact properties of woven Kevlar fabric reinforced epoxy composites. MWCNTs were dispersed in the epoxy resin by sonication technique and the samples were fabricated by hand layup laminating procedure. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to characterize the microstructure of produced samples. The effects of adding small amounts (<= 1%) of MWCNT on the tensile, flexural and impact (Izod) behaviors of laminated composites were analyzed. Results revealed that MWCNTs enhanced the Young's modulus up to 20%, bending modulus up to 40%, and impact strength up to 45% in comparison with woven Kevlar fabric/epoxy composites. It was found that the maximum improvements in mechanical properties were happened for 0.5 wt.% MWCNT.