Experimental and Simulation Analysis of the Influence of Gnps on the Interfacial Properties of Cf/Epoxy - Ta15 Fiber Metal Laminates

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) on the interfacial and mechanical properties of carbon fiber reinforced epoxy resin-based titanium alloy laminates (CF/Epoxy - Ti). Selective laser melting (SLM) was employed to in situ grow GNPs on Ti plates, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were conducted to explore the reinforcement mechanism. Experimental results revealed that SLM-treated Ti plates increased the shear strength of fiber metal laminates (FMLs) by 120% compared to untreated plates. Further, FMLs with 1.6 wt.% GNPs exhibited the highest shear strength (22.4 MPa), significantly surpassing untreated FMLs. Microscopic analyses and MD simulations demonstrated that GNPs enhance interfacial energy, thereby improving the mechanical properties of FMLs.

Keywords: FMLs, Graphene nanoplatelets, Selective laser melting, Molecular dynamics simulations