An experimental study on interlaminar shear strength and fracture toughness: Carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composites enhanced with the CaCO3 nanoparticles

Abstract

This study examines the effect of nano-CaCO3 particles on interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) and fracture toughness properties for carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composites. The nano-CaCO3 modified carbon fiber epoxy composites (nC-CFECs) were prepared using the vacuum assisted resin infusion (VARI) method. The short beam shear (SBS) test and single edge notch bending (SENB) test were conducted to calculate ILSS and fracture toughness, respectively. The results illustrate that the introduction of 2% wt. nano- CaCO3 into the epoxy increased the ILSS by up to 24%. Moreover, the fracture toughness in the nanoreinforced composite was 32.3% higher than the unmodified composite. Overall, the nanocomposite material has shown better mechanical performance in terms of ILSS and SENB tests.