Abstract:
An experimental investigation is carried out to examine the effectiveness of carbon nanotubes (CNT) in minimizing the environmental assisted degradation of glass fiber/epoxy composites (GFRP). To this end, CNT
modified epoxy is used to fabricate glass fiber/epoxy hybrid composites (CNTGFRP). Experimental results show
that the addition of 1 wt% of CNT in conventional GFRP increases the interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) by 36%
and decreases the volumetric electrical resistance by 46%. Effect of environmental factors is studied by exposing
composite samples to 500 h of accelerated weathering cycle. The exposure to aging cycle not only changes the
colour and microstructure, it also increases the ILSS and electrical resistance of GFRP and CNTGFRP composite
samples. These changes are primarily attributed to the loss of polymer matrix and improved crosslinking in
composites caused by moisture, temperature and UV rays during the aging process. It is recorded that while the
deformation in unaged composites is of ductile nature, the aged samples show fiber dominated brittle behavior.
Finally, it is shown that the incorporation of CNT in the matrix not only ensures structural integrity but also
reduces environmental assisted degradation of conventional glass fiber/epoxy composites.
