Properties of Glass Fiber-Carbon Nanotube (CNT)/Epoxy Composites

A vacuum bagging method was used in this study to produce epoxy/glass fiber laminated composites with carbon nanotube (CNT) and CNT/flame-retardant fillers. The tensile properties, density, and burning rate of the laminated composites consisting of glass fiber and CNT (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 vol%) were investigated and analyzed. The addition of CNT to four-ply glass fiber/epoxy increased tensile strength and Young's modulus. However, addition of CNT to four-ply glass fiber/epoxy reduced elongation at break and density compared with the control sample and higher CNT loading (1.5 vol%) resulted in filler agglomeration and reduced tensile properties. The epoxy/glass fiber composites exhibited better tensile properties with the addition of the hybrid flame-retardant fillers, ammonium polyphosphate (APP)/CNT compared with NP-120/CNT. However, NP-120/CNT showed a better burning rate than APP/CNT. In summary, the CNT-filled epoxy/glass fiber composite was found to exhibit higher tensile properties and burning rate than the hybrid flame-retardant system.