Abstract
To strengthen the carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) to be applied for Europe supersonic airplane, electron beam (EB) irradiation was homogeneously performed. The EB irradiation of 0.3 MGy enhanced the tensile fracture stress from 153 ± 12 to 167 ± 1 MPa and also improved the fracture strain from 3.6 ± 0.4 to 5.6 ± 0.3%. Thus, the EB-enhancement of fracture strain should be a dominant factor to enhance the fracture stress of CFRP, resulting in increasing fracture toughness by EB irradiation. Although EB-strengthening of CFRP was partly affected by EB-strengthening of carbon fiber and fiber pullout related to interfacial friction and compressive stress, the EB induced ductility enhancement of polymer probably dominated the EB-strengthening of CFRP.
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