Bending behavior of laminated Al-epoxy/basalt fiber composites by addition of multi-walled carbon nanoparticles

Fiber metal laminates (FMLs) are a group of hybrid composite materials consisting of metal and fiber-reinforced polymer layers. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of multi-walled carbon nano tubes (MWCNTs) on the flexural properties of fiber/metal composites as its novelty. The effect of different MWCNTs weight percent (wt.%) on the properties of samples have been investigated from 0 up to 0.75 wt.%. The results showed that the addition of MWCNTs up to 0.5 wt.% resulted in an increasing trend in the flexural strength and flexural modulus of the samples. At higher amounts of MWCNTs, a reverse trend was observed. Therefore, in this study, the optimal amount of MWCNTs is obtained by 0.5 wt.% as its novelty, so that compared to the sample without MWCNTs, the flexural strength and flexural modulus values are improved by 36.62% and 60.16%, respectively. SEM microscope observations also showed that the protrusion and bridging mechanisms of MWCNTs are the main reason for this improvement.