MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF GRAPHENE NANOPLATELET/EPOXY COMPOSITES

Abstract

Due to their high specific stiffness, carbon-filled polymer composites are commonly used in the construction of structural components of subsonic fixed-wing aircrafts, such as the fuselage and control surfaces. In this work, neat epoxy (EPON 862 with EPIKURE Curing Agent W) was fabricated along with 1- 6 wt% of three types of GNP available from XG Sciences Inc. and 1-4 wt% of another type of GNP available from Asbury Carbons added to epoxy. The curing cycle for this epoxy was 121 °C for 2 hours followed by 177 °C for two hours.