Electroflocking technique in the fabrication and performance enhancement of fiber-reinforced polymer composites

An electroflocking technique for discontinuous fibers has been considered for the fabrication of polymer composite films and the improvement of the performance of laminated plastics. The effects of the fiber density in an aligned fiber layer, the size distribution of polymer binder and the filler content on the volumetric resistivity and tensile strength of carbon-fiber-reinforced polyolefin films have been investigated. Films of higher conductivity can be obtained at lower fiber contents as a result of an aligned fiber layer in the film. These films showed excellent electromagnetic interference shielding properties which could not be achieved by conventional technologies. The effects of short carbon fibers introduced by electroflocking on mechanical and tribological properties of laminated glass or carbon composites were also examined. It was found that electroflocking of short carbon fibers in the fabrication of hybrid laminated plastics leads to the improvement of shear strength and wear resistance. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.