Flexural properties of glass fiber/epoxy/MWCNT composites

Glass fiber/epoxy resin/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were used to fabricate the nano materials integrated thermoset composite materials in this study. Thermoset composites with and without nano materials were fabricated using resin transfer molding (RTM) methods. In order to characterize fabricated samples, three-point flexural tests were used. The best improvement of the flexural modulus and strength with 19% and 7% were obtained by the samples in the 90° direction and MWCNTs compared to the samples without MWCNTs. An increase in interfacial adhesion between glass fibers and epoxy matrix due to the existing of the carbon nanotubes was the reason of the improvement of the flexural properties of carbon nanotubes integrated composites.