Synergistic delamination toughening of composites using multi-scale carbon reinforcements

Multi-scale toughening is a key strategy employed by biological systems, made of intrinsically brittle constituents, to achieve high damage tolerance. This paper presents an investigation of the synergistic enhancements to the mode I interlaminar fracture toughness of fibre-polymer composite laminates using multi-scale carbon reinforcements. By combining carbon nanofibres (CNFs) dispersed in the matrix and z-pins in the laminate thickness at...