Moisture and temperature influence on mechanical behavior of PPS/buckypapers carbon fiber laminates

In this work, multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) were dispersed in water with the assistance of water based surfactant and then sonicated in order to obtain a very well dispersed solution. The suspension was filtrate under vaccum conditions, generating a thin film called buckypapers (BP). Poly (phenylene sulphide) (PPS) reinforced carbon fiber (CF) and PPS reinforced CF/BP composites were manufactured through hot compression molding technique. Subsequently the samples were exposed to extreme humidity (90% of moisture) combined with high temperature (80 degrees C). The mechanical properties of the laminates were evaluated by dynamic mechanical analysis, compression shear test, interlaminar shear strength and impulse excitation of vibration. Volume fraction of pores were 10.93% for PPS/CF and 16.18% for PPS/BP/CF, indicating that the hot compression molding parameters employed in this investigation (1.4 MPa, 5 min and 330 degrees C) affected both the consolidation quality of the composites and the mechanical properties of the final laminates.