Tensile characterization of novel fiber metal laminate (FML) using copper/brass sheets and kevlar/carbon fibers

Abstract

In this research article the tensile characteristics of the novel fiber metal laminate made with copper (CU), brass (CU) sheets Kevlar (K) and carbon (C) fibers as the reinforcement with 0, 0.5 and 1 wt. % of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in an epoxy material is studied with three different stacking sequences.CNTs is mixed with epoxy resin LY556 and HY951 hardener using a ultrasonicator. The Resin and hardener are taken in the ratio of 10:1. The composite laminate is fabricated by hand lay-up method. Compression moulding is used to compress the fabricated composite. After fabrication the composite laminate is cut into required dimension as per ASTM standard D638.Tensile test is performed on the composite laminate using a Universal Testing Machine (UTM) with a elongation speed of 2mm/min and corresponding tensile strength, stress strain values are noted. Finally, the failure of the tensile specimen is studied using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images.