Evaluating the effectiveness of nanofillers in filament wound carbon/epoxy multiscale composite pipes

The performance of filament wound (FW) composite pipes is considered to be fundamentally governed by fiber properties and winding angles; however, matrix dominated properties such as axial and hoop strengths are also responsible in design of FW composite pipes. This paper presents the experimental results of a project aiming to assess the benefits of addition of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and/or boron nitride nanoplates (BNNPs) as nanofillers within epoxy matrix of FW carbon fiber composite pipes. The nanofillers enhance the burst and hoop strengths up to 17.0% and 31.7%, respectively, over the control samples. Failure analysis revealed that the morphologies of nanofillers play an important role on the matrix toughening and strengthening the fiber matrix interface. Highest mechanical performance of the multiscale composite pipes was obtained with the addition of CNTs and BNNPs within the epoxy matrix concurrently related with the synergetic effect of the two different nanofillers. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.