Production and mechanical characterization of Carbon fiber laminated composites modified by Graphene nano platelets (GnP) for high performance application

Abstract

Polymeric materials play a pivotal role in diverse high-performance engineering domains, including aerospace, marine, automotive, and defense sectors. Their applications span from essential protective gear to intricate components vital for aircraft missiles, showcasing their versatility and significance in modern technology. The Graphene nano platelets (GnP) have the exceptional properties of a high contact area with the reinforcement material and enhanced synergistic effect, which is highly desired to improve the material performance. The present work describes the production of Carbon fiber laminated composites enhanced by Graphene nano Platelets (GnP) using a cost-effective Hand layup method (HLM). Herein, three different concentrations of GnP at 0.25, 1.0, and 1.75 wt% were used to modify the CFRP laminates. This is primarily performed to examine the viscoelastic and mechanical properties of the proposed GnP/CFRP sample. The findings of mechanical testing reveal that GnP nanofiller addition of 1.00 wt% significantly enhances the tensile and flexural properties by 20.7% and 10.05% respectively in comparison to neat sample. Also, the composites show satisfactory improvement in impact strength by 31.60% and enhanced viscoelastic properties at a 0.25 wt% of GnP loading. The XRD and DMA findings support GnP loading for high performance applications.