08 Abr New collaborative paper on the mechanical properties of a new aeronautic-grade
The new paper entitled “Study into the Mechanical Properties of a New Aeronautic-Grade Epoxy-Based Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Vitrimer” has been recently published by researchers from different institutions from Spain and Ireland, including AMADE, at the Polymers journal (volume 14, 1223).
The current drive for sustainability demands recyclable matrices for composite materials. Vitrimers combine thermoset properties with reprocessability, but their mechanical performance in highly loaded applications, for instance, composites for aeronautics, is still to be demonstrated. This work presents the complete mechanical characterization of a new vitrimer reinforced with carbon fiber. This vitrimer formulation consists of functional epoxy groups and a new dynamic disulfide crosslinks-based hardener. The testing campaign for the vitrimer composites encompassed tension, compression, interlaminar shear strength (ILSS), in-plane shear (IPS), open-hole tension (OHT) and compression (OHC), filled-hole compression (FHC) and interlaminar fracture toughness tests under mode I and II. Test conditions included room temperature and high temperature of 70 ºC and 120 ºC, respectively, after moisture saturation. Tension and flexural tests also were applied on the neat vitrimer resin. The results compared well with those obtained for current aeronautic materials manufactured by Resin Transfer Molding (RTM). The lower values observed in compression and ILSS derived from the thermoplastic veils included as a toughening material. This work demonstrates that the vitrimer formulation presented meets the requirements of current matrices for aeronautic-grade carbon-reinforced composites.
This work was financially supported by the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation project AIRPOXY with grant agreement 769274 under the H2020-MG-2017-Two-Stage call. J. Costa acknowledges the support of the Spanish MICINN, through the project RTI2018-097880-B-I00.
This work is an open access paper available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14061223
