Multifunctional Carbon Fiber–Graphene Epoxy Composites for Structural Health Monitoring under Dynamic Loading

Abstract

In this work, multi-scale hybrid composite materials were fabricated from carbon fibers and graphene nanoplatelets mixed at different ratios and dispersed in epoxy resin matrix. The main mechanical characteristics (stress-strain) of these composite materials were determined and slight differences were observed with varying mixing ratios. The variation in electrical resistance of the fabricated composite samples was determined as a function of the applied mechanical stress at different frequencies of the multiple loading cycles. Approximately linear behavior was observed for all samples and hence the gauge factor was calculated and found to increase with applied stress and frequency. These results can be successfully used to design multi-functions composite materials for smart and self-health monitoring systems.