Carbon Fiber Composite Materials Co-modified by Inorganic Particle and Non-woven Fabric and the Toughening Mechanism
In response to the issues of poor interlaminar properties and susceptibility to delamination damage in carbon fiber composites,a technology for toughening and modifying carbon fiber/epoxy resin matrix composites(CFRP)using SiC particles and thermoplastic copolyamide(PA)non-woven fabric was proposed.It constructed a multi-component and multi-scale toughening system of inorganic particles/thermoplastic fiber/resin matrix within the interlayers.The interlaminar fracture toughness as well as the thermal resistance of the composite materials before and after modification of Mode-Ⅰ and Mode-Ⅱ were compared and analyzed.The mechanisms of toughening and heat resistance were revealed with the help of scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and dynamic thermomechanical analysis.The results showed that compared with the unmodified CFRP materials,when the SiC filling content(by mass fraction)was 1%and the PA non-woven fabric areal density was 25 g/m2,the Mode-Ⅰ interlaminar fracture toughness(GⅠC)and Mode-Ⅱ interlaminar fracture toughness(GⅡC)of the modified CFRP material increased by 52.7%and 222.6%,respectively.The retardation effect of inorganic particles,the bridging effect of fibers and the plastic deformation of matrix resins are the main toughening mechanisms.