Mode I interlaminar fracture toughness of thin-ply laminates with CNT webs at the crack interface

Pristine and functionalized carbon nanotube (CNT) webs were introduced at the interlaminar region of two different thin-ply carbon fibre reinforced polymer systems (NTPT 402 prepreg, and TeXtreme/SE84LV). The Mode I interlaminar fracture toughness (ILFT) for the NTPT 402 material was substantially lower. In contrast when SE84LV resin was used, the resistance curves were virtually unchanged and with no depreciation in the steady state value of the ILFT. This demonstrates that a careful choice of the resin is essential to permit the embedding of CNT webs in thin-ply laminates without compromising structural performance and opens a new way towards the development of multifunctional thin-ply structures.