MULTISCALE FIBER REINFORCED COMPOSITES USING A CARBON NANOFIBER/EPOXY NANOPHASED MATRIX: PROCESSING, PROPERTIES, AND THERMOMECHANICAL BEHAVIOR by KEITH JAMAHL GREEN DERRICK R. DEAN, COMMITTEE CHAIR

Fiber-reinforced polymer composites (FRCs) have shown great promise as high strength structural materials due to their high stiffness to weight ratio and their ease in processing. They have found extensive use in aerospace, automotive, construction, and recreational equipment material applications. Research in polymer-based nanocomposites (PNCs) has shown explosive growth in the past decade with much emphasis focused on PNC using thermosetting polymer matrices. Modifying conventional FRCs with a PNC matrix result in the emergence of a hybrid composite material termed multiscale fiber-reinforced composites (M-FRCs). The current research addresses carbon nanofiber (CNF) surface modification, carbon nanofiber/epoxy polymer nanocomposite (CNF/PNC) development and M-FRC fabrication. Vacuum assisted resin infusion molding (VARIM) is used to produce MFRC. The materials used in this research are surface modified and modified CNFs, aerospace grade high temperature epoxy resin, and plain-weave E-glass fiber preforms. The VARIM process used to produce M-FRC is explained in detail. The effects of using a CNF/PNC nanophased polymer matrix is presented and thoroughly investigated.