IMPROVEMENT OF THE JOINING PERFORMANCE OF FIBER-REINFORCED COMPOSITE WITH PA66 NANOFIBERS PRODUCED BY THE ELECTROSPINNING METHOD

Abstract

In this study, electrospun polyamide-6.6 (PA 66) nanofibers were added to bond surfaces to improve the bond strength of a structural fiber-reinforced composite. For this purpose, the nanofiber were coated on the UD carbon/epoxy prepregs. Composite laminates were fabricated using the autoclave method, employing carbon/epoxy prepregs with/without PA66 nanofiber incorporation of bond region. A single lap shear, Charpy impact energy and Mode-I fracture toughness tests were applied to the reference and PA 66 coated samples to examine the effects of PA 66 nanofibers on the mechanical properties of the joint region of the composites. The morphology and fracture modes of the nanofibers were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The thermal properties of PA66 nanofibers were investigated by the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) method. It was found that the PA 66 nanofibers coated on the prepreg surfaces by electrospinning are very effective in improving the strength of composite joints. The results revealed that single lap shear and Charpy impact strength values of the composite joint are increased by about 79% and 24%, respectively, by coating PA 66 nanofibers to the joint region. The results also showed that by using PA 66 nanofibers, Mode-I fracture toughness value is improved by about 107% and Tg was not affected. Copyright © 2023. Used by CAMX - The Composites and Advanced Materials Expo with permission.