Interlaminar fracture toughness of graphite fiber-reinforced polyimide composites

Conclusion The present study has proved the effectiveness of the application of viscoelastic polymers with increased fracture toughness to graphite/polyimide composites interlaminar fracture toughness improvement. Thermoplastic polysulphone film and thermoresistant structural adhesive have proved to be inherently more effective for composites' delamination resistance growth than maleimide resin toughening and structural modification. The former inevitably results in increase of the honeycomb delamination resistance (Fig. 1) and its durability.Published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 30, No. 6, pp. 848–852, November–December, 1994.