• De Schoenmaker, Bert
• Van Paepegem, Wim
• Clerck, Karen De
• Baere, Ives De

Abstract

Many literature is available on the use ofnanofibres for tissue engineering, (bio)mcdicaJ applications, filtration and others, Their possibilities for composites have however much less been exploited. Owing to the high specific surface and low fibre diameter of nanofibres, they are very promising as secondary reinforcement for composites. Therefore, this research focuses on the mechanical properties of an epoxy resin with unidirectional glass fibres as primary reinforcement and polyamide 6 nanofibres as secondary reinforcement. Glass fibre composite plates are compared with composite plates with free interlayered nanofibrous nonwovens and with nanofibres directly electrospun on the unidirectional glass fibre mats. These interlayer nanofibrous structures, approximately 35 )!m thick, were obtained by solvent nozzle electrospinning and had an average fibre diameter of 136 ± 18 nm. The [OO,900h composite plates were produced through the resin transfer moulding process and mechanically characterized by tensile tests. The knee point of the composite plates significantly increased when nanofibres were added between the glass fibre layers, which imply that the matrix was strongly strengthened by the incorporated nanofibres. Also the shear modulus and strength under 45° increased with free interlayered nanofibres. When the nanofibres were directly electrospun on the glass fibres, the strength was even higher. Furthermore, the ratio of Poisson was considerably better when secondary nanofibres were added, especially when they were directly electrospun on the glass fibres. In conclusion, the nanofibrous nonwovens improve the mechanical properties of the glass fibre/epoxy composite plates, especially when loaded under 45°. This research highlights the advantages of adding nanofibres to glass fibre composites, and thus creating an innovative application area for nanofibres.

Topics

• impedance spectroscopy
• surface
• glass
• glass
• laser emission spectroscopy
• strength
• composite
• resin
• electrospinning