Vibration damping property tensile and flexural behavior of kevlar-carbon/epoxy/nanoclay composites

The present study investigated the effect of Nano clay additives on the tensile, flexural, vibration and damping properties of the intraply carbon/Kevlar fiber reinforced epoxy (CKFRE) composites. Six Nano-clay particle contents of 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 wt% were used to produce the composite laminates. The specimens were tested according to ASTM standards. The results indicated that the tensile and flexural strength improved by 13.1 % and 28.5% at Nano-clay contents of 1 wt% and 2 wt%, respectively, compared to unmodified CKFRE composite. Experimental modal analysis was used to determine a vibration properties of the produced composites. Half power band-width method was applied to evaluate damping responses of first natural frequency mode of the composite samples. The inclusion of Nano-clay particles in the CKFRE laminate exhibited increase in natural frequency, damping ratio and storage modulus. Hence, the vibration modulus was increased from 8.72 GPa for unfilled CKRE to reach 14.80 Gpa with Nano clay content of 4.0%, with maximum increment of 70%.