Carbon-epoxy composites reinforced with nano-structures of tungsten disulfide for potential use in aircraft structures

Abstract

In design of aircraft it is important to use light-weight, but mechanically strong materials and for this purpose, many new composite structures have been developed, mostly based on strong fibers and a binding resin. In this research a possibility is considered to reinforce composite based on carbon fibers and epoxy resin, adding a small amount of poly (vinyl butyral), PVB and nanostructures of tungsten disulfide. Two kinds of nanoparticles were used in experiments, both known by their good mechanical resistance: fullerene-like nanoparticles and multi-wall nanotubes, IF-WS2 and INT-WS2. Composite samples were prepared to consist of multi-layers of carbon fibers impregnated with epoxy resin and PVB solution containing dispersed nanostructures of WS2 in defined concentrations. Nanoparticles have been observed with scanning electron microscope, SEM. Mechanical properties of the multi-layer composite samples have been tested with two configurations of fiber directions. Analysis has been made to compare results and give conclusions that encourage the future application of these nanostructures to enhance the performance of composites for military aircrafts.

Keywords

• composite materials
• nanoparticles
• tungsten disulfide
• epoxy resins
• carbon fiber
• aircraft structure