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Mechanical Properties of Carbon Fiber/Epoxy Composites: Effects of Number of

Plies, Fiber Contents, and Angle-Ply Layers

Article  in  Polymer Engineering and Science · November 2014

DOI: 10.1002/pen.23820

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Original Article
Journal of Reinforced Plastics
and Composites

Mechanical performance of epoxy/carbon 2014, Vol. 33(8) 733–740

! The Author(s) 2014
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DOI: 10.1177/0731684413518255
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Hossein Rahmani, S. Heydar Mahmoudi Najafi and

Alireza Ashori

Abstract
The objective of this research work was to gain a better understanding of the mechanical properties of epoxy resin
composites reinforced with carbon fiber. For this purpose, the effects of fiber orientations, resin types, and number of
laminates on mechanical properties of laminated composites have been investigated. In the sample preparation, com-
posites were manufactured by hand lay-up process, using a fiber-to-resin ratio of 40:60 (w:w). To investigate the effect of
fiber orientation, angles of 0 , 35 , 45 , and 90 were selected. Results show that the mechanical properties, in terms
of tensile, flexural and impact strengths, were mainly dependent on the fiber orientations followed by the number of
laminates. At a similar fiber orientation, the composites made with EM500 epoxy resin showed the highest mechanical
properties (such as tensile and flexural and impact strengths) compared to other evaluated composites. However, the
differences were not highly significant. The results indicated that the mechanical properties of composites made with five-
ply were generally slightly greater than three-ply composites. It may be due to the bondline defects, which adversely
influence the mechanical properties. Scanning micrographs of the composites showed that the epoxy matrix material was
fully adhered to the fibers, indicating a strong interface. It can be concluded that the order of increment parameters in
the mechanical properties of the composites is fiber orientation > number of laminates > resin type. In addition, the
tensile and flexural properties were superior in case of 35 fiber orientations.

Keywords
Laminated composites, fiber orientation, epoxy resin, carbon fiber, mechanical properties

Introduction
Epoxy resin has been of significant importance to the
engineering community for many years. Components
made of epoxy-based materials have provided out-
standing mechanical, thermal, and electrical proper-
ties.1 Using an additional phase (e.g. inorganic fillers)
to improve the properties of epoxy resins has become a
common practice.2 It has been established in recent
years that the polymer-based composites reinforced
with carbon fiber can significantly improve the mech-
anical, thermal, and barrier properties of the pure poly-
mer matrix.3 Moreover, these improvements are
achieved through conventional processing techniques
without any detrimental effects on processability,
appearance, density, and ageing performance of the
polymer matrix.4 Due to the above characteristics, the
laminated fiber-reinforced composite materials such as
epoxy/carbon fiber composites are widely applied in
packaging, coating, electronics, automotive, and aero-
space industries.5,6 They have high strength-to-weight
and stiffness-to-weight ratios. These composites have
unique advantages over monolithic materials, such as
high strength, high stiffness, long fatigue life, low dens-
ity, corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and environ-
mental stability.7 Laminated composites are susceptible
to mechanical damages when they are subjected to
efforts of tension, flexural, and impact, which can
Department of Chemical Technologies, Iranian Research Organization for
Science and Technology (IROST), Tehran, Iran.
Corresponding author:
A Ashori, Department of Chemical Technologies, Iranian Research
Organization for Science and Technology (IROST), P.O. Box 15815-
3538, Tehran, Iran.
Email: ashori@irost.org

Downloaded from jrp.sagepub.com at Universiti Putra Malaysia on March 27, 2014

734
lead to material failure. Therefore, it is necessary to use
materials with improved mechanical properties.8
Mechanical properties of epoxy polymeric compos-
ites can be enhanced through the improvement of the
interlaminar properties by toughening resin matrix9,10
and fiber reinforcement.8,11 Rahmani et al.12 investi-
gated the influence of fiber orientation, fiber content,
and number of plies on mechanical prosperities. When
composite materials are designed, the reinforcements
are always oriented in the load direction. However, if
the load direction is variable and not parallel to the
fibers, it becomes more important to investigate
the laminate mechanical behavior.13 The main aim of
the present investigation was to study the influence of
resin type, fiber orientations, and number of laminates
on the mechanical properties. For parametric study,
mechanical properties in terms of tensile, flexural, and
impact strengths as well as morphological characteris-
tics of the composite samples were evaluated.
Experimental
Materials
Fiber. Unidirectional carbon fiber, Toray’s Torayca
T700S-12 k, was employed to lay-up composite lamin-
ates as reinforcing agent. Table 1 presents mechanical
and physical properties of the used fibers.
Matrix. Three different types of resin materials were
used in this study: Araldit LY 5052, Lionbond
EM500, Epon 828. Table 2 shows some characteristics
of the used resin types along with their hardeners.
Releasing agent. Mould release agent of QZ 13 was a
product of Huntsman Petrochemical Co. The mold
was coated with releasing agent to ensure that the
fibers will not adhere to the mold.
Preparation of composites
The details of the composites preparation have been
reported elsewhere.12 In short, three- and five-ply
Table 1. Mechanical and physical properties of the used
carbon fiber.
Property Value
Tensile strength (MPa) 2550
Tensile modulus (GPa) 135
Elongation (%) 2.1
Density (g/cm3) 180
Carbon content (%) 93
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Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 33(8)
composite panels with thicknesses of 0.4 and 0.7 mm
(each ply was approximately 0.135 mm thick) were fab-
ricated, respectively. To investigate the effect of fiber
orientation, angles of 0 , 35 , 45 , and 90 were selected
in this study. The ratio of epoxy to carbon fiber was
60:40 by weight for all experiments. Before hand lay-
up, the mold was coated with a releasing agent to
ensure that the fibers will not adhere to the mold. The
stacking sequences, formulations, and abbreviation
used for the respective composites prepared are given
in Table 3. A brush was used to impregnate the fibers
with the resin evenly. The next fabrication process was
vacuum bagging. The specimen was placed in a plastic
vacuum bag and sealed to isolate it from the atmos-
phere. The sample was compacted by vacuum, and
the breather cloth collected the excess resin and
removed the air bubbles and volatiles. Finally, the spe-
cimen was placed in an autoclave at 60 C for 12 h.
Testing procedures
The specimens were tested following ASTM standard
D-638 for tensile properties, D-790 for flexural proper-
ties, and D-256 for impact strength. The specimens
were water-jet cut from the panels parallel to the x-
axial direction (based on the first layer). Tensile and
bending tests were conducted using a Universal
Testing Machine (Santam model STM-150), with a
constant crosshead speed of 5 mm/min. An extensom-
eter, with an 80-mm gauge length, was used to measure
the displacement of the specimens. Izod impact test was
performed with a pendulum apparatus (CEAST model
6958) using conventional V-notched specimens. Due to
the flexibility, the impact samples needed a cryogenic
temperature treatment using liquid nitrogen.
Consequently, the specimens were conditioned in a
chamber for 15 min before testing. The temperature of
chamber was set at –70 C. Three replicate tests were
conducted for each treatment.
Morphological characterization
Studies on the morphology of the composites were car-
ried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
Micrographs of the surfaces of tensile fractured speci-
mens were taken using SEM TESCAN (model WEGA-
II). Specimens were sputter-coated with gold to a
thickness of 20 nm in order to prevent electrical char-
Standard
ging during the examination. An accelerating voltage of
TY-030B-01 15 kV was used to collect the SEM images.
TY-030B-01
TY-030B-01 Results and discussion
TY-030B-02
The average tensile, flexural, and impact properties
determined for all of the composite materials are
Rahmani et al. 735

shown in Table 4. Overall trend shows that fiber orien- the composite formulations, the tensile modulus did
tation had the most significant influence on the not show a considerable increase.
improvement of mechanical properties. For easier com- As it can be seen from Figure 1(c), the elongation at
parison, the mechanical properties of the produced break of specimens increased moderately with increas-
composites are shown in Figures 1–3. ing the number of laminates. Results indicate that there
is a moderate increase in the values of elongation at
break by increasing the number of laminates, and
Tensile properties there are significant differences among the resin types
Figure 1(a–c) illustrates tensile properties in terms of
strength, modulus, and elongation at break for the vari-
ous fabricated composites, respectively. The tensile
strengths of the composites slightly varied with resin Table 3. Compositions of the epoxy/carbon fiber laminated
type; however, differences were not highly significant composites.
(Figure 1(a)). The tensile strength increased from an Sample Resin Number Fiber
average of 20 MPa for LY3/3 and EP3/3 samples to code type of laminate orientation ( )
an average of 1059 MPa for LY5/4 composite. As it
can be seen, the highest and the lowest tensile strengths LY3/1 LY 5052 3 0, 90, 0
were found for the five-ply composites. In other words, LY3/2 LY 5052 3 0, 35, 0
the tensile strength does not seem to be affected by the LY3/3 LY 5052 3 90, 45, 90
number of laminates, while on changing the fiber orien- LY5/4 LY 5052 5 0, –35, 0, +35, 0
tation, the tensile strength tends to decrease or increase LY5/5 LY 5052 5 +35, –35, 0, +35, –35
considerably. It is to be noted that higher load was LY5/6 LY 5052 5 +35, –35, 0, –35, +35
required for fracture of laminates in the case of  35 LY5/7 LY 5052 5 0, 90, 0, 90, 0
orientations. In other words, the composites with 0 , EM3/1 EM 500 3 0, 90, 0
35 , 0 and 0 , –35 , 0 , +35 , 0 orientations showed EM3/2 EM 500 3 0, 35, 0
the highest tensile strengths and moduli among the stu- EM3/3 EM 500 3 90, 45, 90
died composites. It can be concluded that the dominant
EM5/4 EM 500 5 0, –35, 0, +35, 0
factor is the fiber orientation.
EM5/5 EM 500 5 +35, –35, 0, +35, –35
The trend of tensile moduli of the composites was
similar to that of tensile strength discussed earlier EM5/6 EM 500 5 +35, –35, 0, –35, +35
(Figure 1(b)). The tensile moduli of the composites EM5/7 EM 500 5 0, 90, 0, 90, 0
vary significantly with fiber orientations. The composite EP3/1 EPON 828 3 0, 90, 0
type LY5/4 (using 0 , –35 , 0 , +35 , 0 ) showed the EP3/2 EPON 828 3 0, 35, 0
highest tensile modulus compared to other studied EP3/3 EPON 828 3 90, 45, 90
composites, whereas composites types LY3/3, EM3/3, EP5/4 EPON 828 5 0, –35, 0, +35, 0
and EP3/3 exhibited the lowest tensile moduli. Resin EP5/5 EPON 828 5 +35, –35, 0, +35, –35
type and number of laminates did not have strong influ- EP5/6 EPON 828 5 +35, –35, 0, –35, +35
ence on the mechanical properties of composites. In EP5/7 EPON 828 5 0, 90, 0, 90, 0
addition, with increasing the number of laminates in

Table 2. Physical properties of the used resins and hardeners.

Properties LY 5052 Aradur 5052 EM 500 H 917 EPON 828 TETA 3234

Appearance Clear liquid Clear liquid Clear liquid Amber liquid Clear liquid Clear liquid
Color (Gardner) 2 4 – – 1 Max. 200
Viscosity at 25 C 1000–1500 cps 40–60 cps 1000–1500 cps 60 cps 1100–1500 cps 25 cps
Density at 25 C 1.17 g/cm3 0.94 g/cm3 1.16 g/cm3 0.96 g/cm3 1.16 g/cm3 0.98 g/cm3
Flash point 140 C 93 C – – 249 C 275 C
Mix ratio (by weight) 100 38 100 25 100 15
Equivalent weight (g/eq.) 146–150 – 180–190 – 185–192 –
Supplier Huntsman Huntsman Lionbond Lionbond Momentive Momentive

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736 Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 33(8)

Table 4. Mechanical properties of various laminated compositesa.

Sample Tensile Tensile Elongation Flexural Flexural Impact

code strength (MPa) modulus (GPa) at break (%) strength (MPa) modulus (GPa) strength (J/m)

LY3/1 329 (56) 27.5 (2.6) 1.04 (0.20) 525 (87) 28.5 (1.1) 2/1 (0.4)
LY3/2 1017 (82) 73.4 (4.8) 1.25 (0.15) 1110 (103) 51.9 (2.4) 2.2 (0.7)
LY3/3 20 (2) 6.8 (0.5) 0.29 (0.05) 140 (94) 4.1 (2.8) 2.8 (0.3)
LY5/4 1059 (90) 80.0 (3.1) 1.33 (0.11) 996 (107) 48.0 (1.3) 5.5 (0.4)
LY5/5 518 (44) 45.7 (5.9) 1.49 (0.12) 535 (84) 22.6 (3.1) 4.5 (1.05)
LY5/6 544 (64) 46.7 (4.3) 1.71 (0.16) 118 (62) 23.6 (1.4) 6.8 (0.2)
LY5/7 1058 (23) 59.0 (2.8) 1.63 (0.03) 769 (61) 40.4 (1.7) 5.2 (0.2)
EM3/1 1043.8 (71.9) 60.66 (4.69) 1.63(0.11) 1265.7 (90.6) 51.32 (2.48) 3.25 (0.8)
EM3/2 879 (56) 56.12 (8.15) 0.55 (0.11) 1029.45 (54.4) 46.08 (2.97) 3.01 (0.8)
EM3/3 21.4 (0.4) 6.3 (0.35) 0.34 (0.02) 85.4 (19.8) 2.45 (1.17) 10.8 (0.8)
EM5/4 879.5 (81.8) 61.57 (6.57) 1.48 (0.13) 822.55 (29.6) 47.05 (1.76) 10.23 (0.9)
EM5/5 487.9 (36.9) 47.19 (7.14) 1.55 (0.133) 796.1 (113.3) 30.22 (1.93) 11.02 (0.9)
EM5/6 532.53 (35.6) 34.61 (1.95) 1.79 (0.127) 554.4 (69.6) 26.09 (1.6) 7.42 (1)
EM5/7 526.8 (72) 51.7 (4.11) 0.94 (0.05) 1080.35 (33.9) 54.29 (1.07) 7.68 (0.8)
EP3/1 915.7 (49.7) 59.2 (2.52) 1.43 (0.11) 1008.97 (51.7) 55.47 (3.11) 2.3 (0.3)
EP3/2 758.37 (105.8) 70.84 (6.76) 1.12 (0.04) 1055.6 (82) 54.24 (2.1) 2.44 (0.2)
EP3/3 20.3 (1.2) 6.92 (0.42) 0.46 (0.15) 79.3 (82) 2.23 (0.6) 1.51 (0.2)
EP5/4 647.3 (54.6) 71.58 (2.09) 0.95 (0.09) 911.97 (52) 57.57 (2.58) 5.33 (0.6)
EP5/5 393.4 (55.3) 35 (8.25) 1.36 (0.153) 495 (90.1) 21.87 (3.7) 4.77 (0.5)
EP5/6 411.1 (24.8) 33.51 (1.95) 1.49 (0.04) 640.95 (82.1) 28.02 (2.13) 8.13 (0.7)
EP5/7 977.07 (81.7) 65.71 (5.73) 1.52 (0.12) 993.05 (62) 46.56 (2.46) 6.23 (1.1)
a
Numbers in the parentheses are standard deviations.

and the fiber orientations. Resin type LY showed the
highest elongation at break and composite types LY5/6
and EM5/6 showed the most flexible behavior, with
1.8% and 1.7%, respectively. This result is mainly
explained by fiber orientation. In other words, more
elongation was observed in 35 orientations. The
elongation is minimal in case of 90 orientation.
Flexural properties
Figure 2(a and b) shows the results of flexural strength
and modulus of composites as function of treatment
condition, respectively. The composite type EM3/1
shows the highest flexural strength, whereas composites
types LY3/3, EM3/3, and EP3/3 exhibited the lowest
strengths and moduli. Maximum flexural tensile was
1266 MPa for EM3/1 composite, while the maximum
modulus of EP5/4 was approximately 57.6 GPa. In
other words, the maximum and minimum flexural
moduli were in case of 35 and 90 orientations,
respectively. This kind of behavior may be explained
by the improved interfacial adhesion between the
matrix and fibers. In addition, various parameters influ-
ence the flexural properties of fiber-reinforced
composites including the fiber orientations, fiber-
matrix adhesion, stress transfer at the interface, and
mixing temperatures. One of the most important par-
ameters controlling the mechanical properties of long
fibers composite is the fiber orientation.13
Comparison of the results for three different resin
types shows that the flexural strengths and moduli of
the composites made with five-ply were generally higher
than three-ply composites. It is also noteworthy that
with increasing the number of laminates, the bondline
defects, e.g. voids, kissing bonds and porosity are
increased, which may adversely influence the structural
performance of the bonded joints.14
Izod impact strength
Figure 3 shows the Izod notched impact strengths of
the composites. The impact properties of the compos-
ites varied considerably with fiber orientations and
number of laminates. At a certain number of laminates,
the different impact strengths among the manufactured
composites can be attributed to the role of fiber orien-
tations. From Figure 3 it is evident that fiber orienta-
tions of the composites showed the most influence on

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Rahmani et al. 737

1190
(a)
1020

Tensile strength (MPa)

850

680

510

340

170

0
LY3/1
LY3/2
LY3/3
LY5/4
LY5/5
LY5/6
LY5/7

EM3/1
EM3/2
EM3/3
EM5/4
EM5/5
EM5/6
EM5/7

EP3/1
EP3/2
EP3/3
EP5/4
EP5/5
EP5/6
EP5/7
84
(b)
72
Tensile modulus (GPa)

60

48

36

24

12

0
LY3/1
LY3/2
LY3/3
LY5/4
LY5/5
LY5/6
LY5/7

EM3/1
EM3/2
EM3/3
EM5/4
EM5/5
EM5/6
EM5/7

EP3/1
EP3/2
EP3/3
EP5/4
EP5/5
EP5/6
EP5/7
2.1
(c)
1.8
Elongation at break (%)

1.5

1.2

0.9

0.6

0.3

0.0
LY3/1
LY3/2
LY3/3
LY5/4
LY5/5
LY5/6
LY5/7

EM3/1
EM3/2
EM3/3
EM5/4
EM5/5
EM5/6
EM5/7

EP3/1
EP3/2
EP3/3
EP5/4
EP5/5
EP5/6
EP5/7

Sample code

Figure 1. Comparison of tensile strengths (a), tensile moduli (b), and elongation at break (c) of the epoxy/carbon fiber laminated
composites.

the impact strength. Among various formulations, our previous report on carbon fiber/epoxy compos-
composite type EM5/4 had the highest improvement ites.12 Like flexural and tensile properties, resin type
in impact strength, whereas composite EP3/3 fabricated did not show significant effect on the impact strength.
with fiber orientations of 90 , 45 , 90 exhibited the Regardless of resin type, composites made with five-ply
lowest impact strength. This result is consistent with exhibited the highest impact strength; whereas three-ply

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738 Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 33(8)

1400
(a)
1200

Flexural strength (MPa) 1000

800

600

400

200

0
LY3/1
LY3/2
LY3/3
LY5/4
LY5/5
LY5/6
LY5/7

EM3/1
EM3/2
EM3/3
EM5/4
EM5/5
EM5/6
EM5/7

EP3/1
EP3/2
EP3/3
EP5/4
EP5/5
EP5/6
EP5/7
70
(b)
60
Flexural modulus (GPa)

50

40

30

20

10

0
LY3/1
LY3/2
LY3/3
LY5/4
LY5/5
LY5/6
LY5/7

EM3/1
EM3/2
EM3/3
EM5/4
EM5/5
EM5/6
EM5/7

EP3/1
EP3/2
EP3/3
EP5/4
EP5/5
EP5/6
EP5/7
Sample code

Figure 2. Comparison of flexural strengths (a) and moduli (b) of the epoxy/carbon fiber laminated composites.

14
Izod impact strength (J/m)

12

10

0
LY3/1
LY3/2
LY3/3
LY5/4
LY5/5
LY5/6
LY5/7

EM3/1
EM3/2
EM3/3
EM5/4
EM5/5
EM5/6
EM5/7

EP3/1
EP3/2
EP3/3
EP5/4
EP5/5
EP5/6
EP5/7

Sample code

Figure 3. Izod impact strengths of the epoxy/carbon fiber laminated composites.

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Rahmani et al. 739

Figure 4. SEM micrographs of tensile fracture surfaces of the composite types of LY5/4 (a and d), EM5/4 (b and e), and EP5/4
(c and f).

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 740
composites showed the lowest properties. It is interest-
ing to note that the strength of composites is dependent
on the properties of fibers such as aspect ratio and
length of individual fibers, which permits better stress
transfer between the matrix and the fibers.3
Fracture surface
In order to investigate the failure mechanism of com-
posites, the tensile fracture surfaces of failed specimens
were comparatively examined using SEM (Figure 4). A
higher magnification micrograph of the composite
types LY5/4 (Figure 4(a)), EM5/4 (Figure 4(b)), and
EP5/4 (Figure 4(c)) illustrates that the fiber filaments
are fully covered with epoxy resin. As it can be clearly
seen, there is no separation of the fibers from the matrix
and a very good interaction between the components
can be inferred from the image. In addition, no matrix
cracking, interface debonding, and interlaminar delam-
ination was observed. The strong adhesion that is
observed at the interface has been already discussed
in mechanical properties of the composites and is
related to epoxy resin, which encapsulates fibers in
the matrix and causes strong bonding. Figure 4(b, d,
f) shows some evidence of remaining micro-cavities
after the fibers were pulled out of the matrix. The pres-
ence of small numbers of holes means that the inter-
facial bonding between the fiber and the matrix
polymer is strong, and therefore, the fibers could pro-
vide an efficient stress transfer from the matrix. This
causes an increase in the mechanical properties of the
composites.
Conclusions
Based on the results of this study, the following conclu-
sions can be drawn.
a. The order of increment parameters in the mechan-
ical properties of the composites is fiber orienta-
tion > number of laminates > resin type.
b. An interesting phenomenon was observed where the
tensile and flexural properties of the composites
made with five-ply were slightly higher than three-
ply composites.
c. Specimens sustain superior load and elongation in
case of 35 orientations compared to other used
orientations.
d. Composites made with EM500 resin showed super-
ior mechanical properties compared to other com-
posites. However, the differences were not highly
significant.
e. The scanning micrographs provided some evidence
of fiber pull-out. This was attributed to the full
encapsulation of fiber filaments by the epoxy matrix.
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Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 33(8)
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