Effect of nano and macro carbon fillers on flexural properties of glass fiber/epoxy composite laminates

Abstract

In this work, symmetrically designed glass fiber composites with epoxy matrices modified with multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT S ) and short carbon fiber fillers (SCFF) have been manufactured using hand layup technique assisted by press molding machine. The flexural test (three point bend test) was performed on MWCNT S reinforced and MWCNT S with short carbon fiber fillers (SCFF) or hybrid reinforced GFRP using Hounsfield H50KS universal testing machine at a strain rate of 1mm/min. The result showed that the addition of nano and macro fillers (i.e. MWCNT S and SCFF) improved flexural strength of GFRP laminate. This increment is more evident in the case of composite filled with MWCNT S (0.5wt %)and SCFF (0.5wt %) both.