Enhanced mechanical properties of multifunctional multiscale glass/carbon/epoxy composite reinforced with carbon nanotubes and simultaneous carbon nanotubes/nanoclays

Hybrid composites are being used in a wide variety of applications especially in the aircraft industry. Therefore, it would be of great use to develop a hybrid composite with a high mechanical performance. With this premise, this studyaimed to imbed secondary nanoscale reinforcement into the matrix of glass/carbon/epoxy composite where amino multi-walled carbon nanotubes and hybridization of amino multi-walled carbon nanotube and Nanoclay (Cloisite 30B) were utilized. The tensile, flexural and impact properties of hybrid composites were evaluated and a comparative study between hybrid composite reinforced with amino-MWCNTs and simultaneous amino-MWCNTs and Nanoclay was conducted. The fractured surfaces of tensile testing and bending testing specimens were characterized with a high precise field emission scanning electron microscopy. The results of the tensile test revealed that incorporation of amino-MWCNTs reduced the ultimate strength of hybrid composite, while the elastic modulus of composite with combination of amino-MWCNTs and Nanoclay increased. It was demonstrated that incorporation of nanotubes and simultaneous presence of both amino MWCNTs and Nanoclay could enhance exclusively the flexural strength of conventional hybrid composite by up to 10.5% and 22% respectively. Also, simultaneous presence of nano-fillers resulted in 12.2% enhancement of impact strength of hybrid composite where amino-MWCNTs exclusively increased it by up to 49.9%. Morphological characterization of composites indicated to strengthen interfacial interaction of fabrics to epoxy when matrix reinforced with nano-fillers, especially in combination of both nanotubes and nanoclays.