Evaluation of mechanical properties of carbon fiber reinforced polyamide 12 laminates with polyamide 12 elastomer layers

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) with laminated construction has excellent mechanical properties, while interlaminar delamination can be easily induced by external impact. To prevent delamination and to improve the impact resistance of CFRP, the addition of interlayers with high toughness material has been reported. Recently, Carbon Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastics (CFRTP) using thermoplastic as a matrix is expected to be applied to the automotive industry instead of CFRP, which require curing time. Thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) are expected to contribute to improve the impact and vibration damping properties of CFRTP because TPE has rubber like elasticity without chemical crosslink and can be molded in the same way as thermoplastics. In this study, CF/PA12 laminates with PA12 elastomer layers were molded and the effects of the quantity of PA12 elastomer layers on its mechanical properties were clarified. PA12 elastomer has a good impregnation property just as PA12, and the absorbed energy in impact test and the loss factor in vibration test of CF/PA12 laminates are improved by addition of PA12 elastomer layers. ©2018 The Society of Materials Science Japan.