Toughening Behavior of Carbon/Epoxy Laminates Interleaved by PSF/PVDF Composite Nanofibers

Featured Application The present findings may find application in manufactured composite material for engineering purposes, load-bearing parts, and structural components. This paper presents an investigation on fracture behavior of carbon/epoxy composite laminates interleaved with electrospun nanofibers. Three different mats were manufactured and interleaved, using only polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), only polysulfone (PSF), and their combination. Mode-I and Mode-II fracture mechanics tests were conducted on virgin and nanomodified samples, and the results showed that PVDF and PSF nanofibers enhance the Mode-I critical energy release rate (G(IC)) by 66% and 51%, respectively, while using a combination of the two registered a 78% increment. The same phenomenon occurred under Mode-II loading. SEM micrographs were taken, to investigate the toughening mechanisms provided by the nanofibers.