Effect of Polyamide Binder on Mechanical Properties of Carbon Fiber Spread Tow/Epoxy Composite

초록

The evaluation of polyamide (PA) binder on a carbon fiber spread tow for improving the mechanical properties of carbon-fiber-reinforced epoxy (CF/epoxy) composites is presented herein. PA powder is applied to spread tow to maintain its shape at the end of the tow spreading process. Test specimens are prepared via vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding. A reference sample of a spread-tow-treated epoxy binder is fabricated to confirm the thermoplastic binder treatment effect and its conditions on CF/epoxy composites. The effect of PA binder treatment on the CF/epoxy composites is assessed via mechanical tests, i.e., tensile, flexural, and interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) tests. In addition, the fracture morphology of the composites is observed using FE-SEM to support the mechanical testing results. Experimental results confirm that compared with the epoxy binder (3.5 wt%)-treated spread tow/epoxy composite, the flexural properties and ILSS of the PA binder (3.5 wt%)-treated spread tow/epoxy composite improve significantly owing to the positive effect of the PA binder. In general, the PA-treated CF/epoxy composite can be used to improve the mechanical strength of carbon fiber composites for engineering applications.

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