S.J.: Continuous fibre composite with a Nano composite matrix: Improvement of flexural and compressive strength at elevated temperatures continuous fibre composites with a Nano composite matrix: Improvement of flexural and compressive strength at elevated

Until recently the world of continuous fibre reinforced composites and the world of nanocomposites have been evolving separately. We have developed a new type of multi-scale composite, which combines continuous fibre reinforcement with a thermoplastic nanocomposite matrix material. The micrometer length-scale of the fibres and the nanometer length-scale of the matrix reinforcement enable the combination of reinforcement on two levels (figure 1). We have shown in a PA6-matrix fibre composite that the use of nanocomposites as matrix material can significantly increase the compressive and flexural strength of the fibre composite, due to the much higher matrix modulus [1]. This positive effect of the nanocomposite matrix on the strength is especially important at elevated temperatures and in high humidity environments. It has been shown that with the nanocomposite matrix the fibre composite has up to 40 % higher flexural strength at elevated temperatures (figure 2). This also means that the new composite retains some strength at temperatures that are up to 50 ºC higher. In contrast to the use of different matrix polymers to improve the high temperature behaviour, the use of nanocomposites can be implemented without any change in the processing temperature. Therefore, this is a very cost-effective method to increase the maximum use temperature