The effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes on the mechanical behavior of basalt fibers metal laminates: An experimental study

Fiber metal laminates (FMLs) are a group of hybrid composite materials consisting of metal and fiber-reinforced polymer layers. In this study, the effects of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on the flexural and high-velocity impact behavior of FMLs made up of aluminum 2024-T3 and basalt fibers/epoxy layers were investigated. The fracture surfaces of samples were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results showed that the adhesion of composite plies, as well as the interfaces between aluminum and basalt fibers/epoxy layers, were significantly affected by the inclusion of the MWCNTs. The good adhesion of MWCNTs within the body of FMLs caused considerable improvement in the flexural properties. In this regard, the optimal content of MWCNTs was 0.5 wt.%, and compared to the samples without MWCNTs, the flexural strength and flexural modulus values improved 36.62% and 60.16%, respectively. However, contrary to the effectiveness of MWCNTs on the flexural performance of samples, the high-velocity impact properties in terms of specific absorbed energy and limit velocity values were affected adversely.