MODE I FRACTURE TOUGHNESS BEHAVIOUR OF EPOXY RESIN-CARBON FIBER COMPOSITES CURED BY IONISING RADIATION

In this work Mode I fracture toughness behavior of Electron Beam cured unidirectional CFRP laminates is investigated by means of standardized Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) tests. A matrix system, comprising a DGEBA epoxy monomer and a typical initiator of cationic polymerization, was used and panel samples assembled by hand lay-up. Curing was achieved by 20 to 40 minutes irradiation on a pulsed 10 MeV Electron Beam accelerator. One batch of resin was also mixed with 10 phr of a PES thermoplastic monomer in order to enhance the matrix toughness. The influence of fibre-matrix adhesion, matrix toughening and matrix crosslinking density on the mode I delamination behavior have been investigated by correlating the results of DCB and Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Analysis (DMTA) tests