TY - JOUR
T1 - Mode-II fracture behaviour of aerospace-grade carbon fibre/epoxy composites interleaved with thermoplastic veils
AU - Quan, Dong
AU - Bologna, Francesca
AU - Scarselli, Gennaro
AU - Ivanković, Alojz
AU - Murphy, Neal
PY - 2020/5/3
Y1 - 2020/5/3
N2 - Thermoplastic veils based on Polyethylene-terephthalate (PET), Polyphenylene-sulfide (PPS) and Polyamide-12 (PA) fibres (∼10μm in diameter) were used to interlay unidirectional (UD), non-crimp fabric (NCF) and 5-Harness satin weave (5H) carbon fibre laminates. The PET and PPS veils remained in a fibrous form and the PA veils melted during the laminate curing process. The results of an end-loaded split test demonstrated significant improvements in the mode-II fracture performance in all cases. In general, interlaying thermoplastic veils was most efficient for toughening the UD laminates, with reduced improvements observed for the 5H and NCF laminates, respectively. The main toughening mechanism of the intact PET and PPS veils was thermoplastic fibre bridging. The melted PA veils mainly improved the fracture toughness of the epoxy at the mid-plane. The different toughening mechanisms of the veils, combined with different fracture mechanisms between the UD, NCF and 5H laminates, resulted in significantly different toughening levels.
AB - Thermoplastic veils based on Polyethylene-terephthalate (PET), Polyphenylene-sulfide (PPS) and Polyamide-12 (PA) fibres (∼10μm in diameter) were used to interlay unidirectional (UD), non-crimp fabric (NCF) and 5-Harness satin weave (5H) carbon fibre laminates. The PET and PPS veils remained in a fibrous form and the PA veils melted during the laminate curing process. The results of an end-loaded split test demonstrated significant improvements in the mode-II fracture performance in all cases. In general, interlaying thermoplastic veils was most efficient for toughening the UD laminates, with reduced improvements observed for the 5H and NCF laminates, respectively. The main toughening mechanism of the intact PET and PPS veils was thermoplastic fibre bridging. The melted PA veils mainly improved the fracture toughness of the epoxy at the mid-plane. The different toughening mechanisms of the veils, combined with different fracture mechanisms between the UD, NCF and 5H laminates, resulted in significantly different toughening levels.
KW - A: Polymer-matrix composites (PMCs)
KW - A: Thermoplastic veils
KW - B: Fracture toughness
KW - C: Fibre bridging
KW - D: Fractography
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85079600796&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.compscitech.2020.108065
DO - 10.1016/j.compscitech.2020.108065
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85079600796
SN - 0266-3538
VL - 191
JO - Composites Science and Technology
JF - Composites Science and Technology
M1 - 108065
ER -