Mechanical behavior of electrophoretically modified CFRP composites at elevated temperatures: An assessment of the influence of graphene carboxyl bath concentration

Abstract

The study aims at investigating the mechanical behavior of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites modified with graphene carboxyl at elevated temperature (ET-110 C) and understanding the effect of electrophoretic deposition bath concentration (0.5 g/L, 1.0 g/L, and 1.5 g/L) on their mechanical behavior at ET. The 1.5 g/L composite has revealed a maximum improvement in energy absorbed before failure of 33.25% at RT and 22.54% at ET for flexural testing and $35% at RT for short beam shear testing, over neat CFRP composite. The modified composites have shown an improved flexural strain to failure at both RT and ET, with 1.5 g/L composite exhibiting maximum enhancement of 12.41% at RT and 26.52% at ET over neat composite. However, at ET, modified composites exhibited lower flexural strength and interlaminar shear strength values in comparison to that of neat. Viscoelastic behavior of all composites was studied to understand bath concentration's effect on thermal behavior via dynamic mechanical thermal analysis. Differential scanning calorimetry was employed for governing the glass transition temperature of composites.Fractography of tested samples (both ET and RT) was performed utilizing a scanning electron microscope to determine the prominent failure mode.

Recent advancements in interface engineering of carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites and their durability studies at different service temperatures

“…[85] Due to the notable strength and stiffness properties of nanofillers like CNTs, [67,[86][87][88] graphene [89,90] and nanoclay [91,92] they are being used as secondary reinforcements for the polymer matrices of the CFRP composites, which leads to their enhanced mechanical behavior. [38,93] However, the homogeneity in the dispersion of nanofillers decides the extent of improvement in mechanical properties. [5,94] There are various dispersion techniques, which include sonication assisted dispersion, [80] high frequency sonication assisted dispersion, [92] shear mixing, [81,95] magnetic stirring assisted dispersion, [96] calendaring, [83,97] thermal spraying of prepregs, [98] shear mixing with vacuum bagging, [99] and resin film infusion.…”

“…have already been implemented in FRP composites. [36][37][38][39][40][41] Kevlar fiber reinforced polymer (KFRP) composites are extensively used in military and industrial applications owing to their high impact toughness. [42] Many polymer based fibers such as polyester fiber and polypropyene fiber possess the benefits of high specific strength and modulus, resistance to chemical and water ingression low dielectric tangent loss and dielectric constant.…”

“…[61][62][63] The CFs which are inherently smooth, chemically inert, and hydrophobic result in poor interfacial behavior of CFRP composite due to the poor wettability of CF and poor adsorption of matrix on CF. [21,38,64,65] Apart from this CFRP composites when exposed to extreme temperatures (sub-zero/elevated temperature) are susceptible to a drastic change in the mechanical properties due to the huge difference in CTE values of matrix and fiber. [38,60,66] Thus, a lot of research has to be carried out to expand the use of CFRP composites in various critical fields.…”

“…[21,38,64,65] Apart from this CFRP composites when exposed to extreme temperatures (sub-zero/elevated temperature) are susceptible to a drastic change in the mechanical properties due to the huge difference in CTE values of matrix and fiber. [38,60,66] Thus, a lot of research has to be carried out to expand the use of CFRP composites in various critical fields. [38,60] Over the last decade, many researchers have tried to overcome this inherent weakness by various methods which include CF surface treatment and introduction of a secondary reinforcement through different routes.…”

“…[38,60,66] Thus, a lot of research has to be carried out to expand the use of CFRP composites in various critical fields. [38,60] Over the last decade, many researchers have tried to overcome this inherent weakness by various methods which include CF surface treatment and introduction of a secondary reinforcement through different routes. [33,61,[67][68][69][70] The objective of this review is to discuss various routes of engineering the interface and to summarize the effect of service temperature (both sub-zero and elevated temperature) on the mechanical behavior of CFRP composites based on the studies of several researchers in the past decade.…”