Mechanical strength and vibration - Damping characteristics of 2D and 3D glass woven composites with graphene nanoparticles

This study investigates the influence of graphene nanoparticles (GnPs) on tensile strength, vibration and damping properties of 2D and 3D glass reinforced composites with 1% weight (GnPs). Epoxy with 1% wt (GnPs) nanoparticles were produced by ultrasonic solution mixing method, and then the composite laminates were prepared via resin infusion method. The mechanical performances of the samples evaluated by using tensile strength tests with morphological analyses of SEM images, while free vibration analysis was conducted to explore the dynamic characteristics in terms of storage and loss modulus. Logarithmic decrement method used to determine the damping ratio from the acceleration-time response. Results showed that the tensile strength and the damping capacity in both 2D and 3D samples increased due to the incorporation of 1% wt (GnPs). 3D glass fiber composites revealed a considerable higher damping ratio than 2D owing to their complex fiber architecture. Although the addition of graphene reduced the natural frequency in the 2D glass fiber fabric composites due to poor dispersion that led to regions of low stiffness, the 3D glass laminates showed a slight increase in the natural frequency, despite the reduced homogeneity and regularity of the GnPs due to the complex structure, indicating that the graphene nanoparticles contribute to the enhanced stiffness within the 3D fiber structure. The incorporation of 1% wt (GnPs) in 2D glass laminates decreased the storage and loss moduli, while a significant improvement is observed in these moduli for the case of 3D glass fiber composites indicating enhanced stiffness and energy dissipation.