Enhanced out-of-plane loading performance of multi-scale glass/epoxy composites doped with HNTs

Glass fiber reinforced composites have attracted great, widely used specific industrial areas such as defense, aerospace, etc. However, composite plates are defenseless to damage accumulation such as matrix cracks, fiber delamination, and delamination, which limits the application of glass composites in specific industrial areas at limited strength levels. Therefore, analysis of the behavior of composites under the out-of-plane loads is essential to optimize such material. This study examines the out-of-plane loading performance of multi-scale glass/epoxy composite laminate. To improve the load-carrying performance in the direction of out-of-plane, the halloysite nanotube (HNT) particle reinforcement was introduced to the epoxy matrix. The three-point bending tests were conducted to attain the out-of-plane load-carrying performance. The findings show that the flexural strength increases by almost 20% for the HNT-modified glass/epoxy composite compared to the unmodified counterpart; meanwhile, the toughness is effectively improved with the HNT addition. Moreover, the damage process of specimens in three-point bending tests was detected by microscopic examination.