Evaluation of impact strength of composites and fiber metal laminates hybridized with nanoclay after exposure to high temperature thermal shock

Composite materials such as fiber reinforced polymeric laminates are used extensively in various engineering applications. Of the greatest impediments to the use of these materials in advanced applications is the reduction of their mechanical properties and structural integrity when they are exposed to high temperatures. In this paper, the effect of nanoclay addition on impact properties of composite and fiber metal laminates before and after exposure to high temperature shock have been investigated. For this purpose, the nanoclay particles were added to pure epoxy resin using mechanical mixer, high-speed mechanical homogenizer, and ultrasonic homogenizer. Then, both the composite laminates and fiber metal laminates 2/1 were laminated by aluminum sheets, pure epoxy resin and modified resin with nanoclay and glass fiber using hand lay-up process. The effects of using nanoclay on the impact strength of composite laminates and fiber metal laminates before and after exposure to temperature of 230 ° C were studied. According to the results obtained, it was found that nanoclay has effective role in maintaining impact properties of the specimens. Additionally, as a result of protective role of metallic layers, the thermal shock induced degradation in impact properties of fiber metal laminates was decreased.