Study on Mechanical Properties of Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Carbon Fiber/ Epoxy Resin Composites

Abstract Carbon nanotubes(CNTs) reinforced carbon fiber/epoxy resin composites with different amounts of carbon nanotubes were prepared by using carbon nanotubes as reinforcement. The effect of the amount of carbon nanotubes on the mechanical properties of the composites was studied. The results show that carbon nanotubes enhance the mechanical properties of carbon fiber resin composites to some extent. When the content of carbon nanotubes is 0.5%, the transverse tensile strength and modulus of the composites are increased by 32.7% and 9% respectively, and the flexural strength and modulus are increased by 12.8% and 16.4% respectively. When the content of carbon nanotubes is 0.3%, the compressive strength reaches the maximum and is increased by 28.7%.