Impact of carbon nanoparticles on fatigue properties and damage mechanisms of carbon fibre-reinforced epoxy

To further improve fatigue perfomance of carbon fibre reinforced epoxy (CFRP) in this thesis carbon nanoparticles are introduced into the polymer matrix. Unmodified and modified CFRP laminates are prepared by an in-house prepreg technique and the impact of nanoparticle size and structure is tested by using two types of carbon nanoparticles: multiwalled carbon nanotubes and few layered graphene. In quasi-static and cyclic loading tests mechanical behaviour and damage development is compared for all configurations revealing a substantial fatigue life improvement by enhancement of the energy absorbing capacity of modified CFRP. However, nanoparticle structure and mode of loading in defining the magnitude of the achievable improvement.