Effect of graphene oxide on Mode-I interlaminar fracture toughness of epoxy/ glass fiber composites

The effect of graphene oxide (GO) on interlaminar fracture toughness of epoxy/glass fiber composite was nvestigated. The GO was prepared by oxidizing graphite powders based on modified Staudenmaier method. The composites were manufactured stacking 8 plies of woven fabric (total thickness of 1.6 ± 0.05 mm) by a hand lay-up process and a fiber-to-resin ratio of 40:60 (w:w). In order to investigate the effect of GO on interlaminar fracture toughness, the double cantilever beam (DCB) test was performed on both non-modified and GO-modified composites. Results of DCB measurements indicated that addition of 0.5 wt% GO improved Mode-I fracture toughness by 27% and 21% for crack initiation and propagation stages respectively, due to strong interaction between GO and epoxy resin

Keywords:

Graphene oxide , Interlaminar fracture toughness , Epoxy composites , Glass fiber