28th Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, 23 - 28 September 2012, Brisbane, Australia
Paper ICAS 2012-7.3.2

AN INVESTIGATION OF MODE I FRACTURE TOUGHNESS USING ALIGNED CARBON-NANOTUBE FORESTS AT THE CRACK INTERFACE

R. Rajef, B. G. Falzon, S. C. Hawkins*
Monash Univ., Australia; *CSIRO, Australia

Keywords: carbon fibre composites, aligned cnts, mode i tests, fracture toughness

Aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were produced as a CNT forest and transplanted onto a laminate to provide through-thickness reinforcement. Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) specimens with the CNTs placed at the crack tip were manufactured and tested to determine the improvements in Mode I fracture toughness.

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