Effect of Volume Fraction and Solutions Absorption on The Properties of Epoxy/Carbon Fiber Composites

Abstract

The objective of this research is to study the effect of volume fraction of short carbon fibers, distilled water and diluted HCl on the mechanical properties of the composite material, and determine the diffusion coefficient. The composite material was prepared from the epoxy resin as a matrix material and the short carbon fibers as a reinforcing material at volume fractions of 3%, 5% and 7%, respectively. Bending strength, Tensile strength and Absorption Tests were carried out on the samples of the composites .The results showed that adding carbon fibers to the polymer has increased the composite material strength and consequently raised the elasticity coefficient and the tensile strength proportionally with the volume fraction. Moreover, the results showed that immersing the samples in water and acid decreased the elasticity coefficient and tensile resistance in a manner proportional to the duration of immersion, whereby the effect of acid was greater than that of water