Fabrication and experimental evaluation of vibration and damping in multiscale graphene/fiberglass/epoxy composites

In this paper, the vibration and damping properties of multiscale laminated fiberglass/epoxy composites modified with a wide range of carbon nanofillers, including multiwalled carbon nanotubes, graphene oxide, reduced-graphene oxide and graphene nanoplatelets were examined for use in structural vibration applications. Simultaneous reinforcement of matrix and fibers was carried out via a novel method that combines a nanoparticle spraying process with nanoparticle/epoxy mixture to incorporate nanoparticles for the enhancement of vibration and damping properties of multiscale laminated fiberglass/epoxy composites. The vibration and damping properties as well as morphological, mechanical properties of the glass fiber-reinforced multiscale composites were investigated. Using a forced vibration technique, the frequency-response functions, natural frequencies and damping ratios of the nanocomposites were measured. The experimental results revealed that the damped natural frequencies of the nanocomposites increased with an increase in nanoparticle concentration. However, at higher contents of nanoparticles, the damped natural frequencies decreased and the damping ratio increased.