The Study of the Structure and Properties of Elementary Carbon Fibers with Metal Coatings
V. A. Nelyub, S. Yu. Fedorov, G. V. Malysheva
Abstract
Four types of metal coating consisting of stainless steel, silver, titanium, and copper are applied to the surface of a unidirectional carbon fiber tape by magnetron sputtering. The results of the experimental evaluation of the strength of elementary carbon fibers with metal coatings and interlaminar shear strength of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics based on them are presented. An epoxide binding agent and vacuum infusion technology are used when fabricating the carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics. The results of the structural analysis of the elementary carbon fibers with metal coatings are presented, and their thicknesses are determined. It is found that all the used metal coatings lead to an increase in the interlaminar shear strength of the carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics. The strength to the greatest extent increases when using a carbon fiber tape with the coating made of stainless steel (by 50%); however, the efficiency of the metallized carbon fiber tapes decreases upon long-term storage.