Viscoelastic properties of bioinspired asymmetric helicoidal CFRP composites

A dynamic mechanical thermal analyser (DMTA) was used to develop insight into the dynamic mechanical properties of bioinspired asymmetric helicoidal carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) composites as a function of fibre architecture using inter-ply stacking angles of 0° (UD), 0/90° (cross-ply), 5°, 15°, 10°, 20°, 25° and 30°. Here, we show that the dynamic mechanical properties of asymmetric helicoidal CFRP composites are linearly correlated to their oriented ply fractions between 0° and 45° off the loading axis. We furthermore provide evidence from the tan-δ curves that asymmetric helicoidal CFRP composites are heterogeneous materials with separate viscoelastic phases and glass transition temperatures, resulting from the stacking architectures of these composites. Inter-ply stacking angles are finally noted as critical factors affecting the extent of macromolecular mobility within helicoidally stacked continuous fibre CFRP composites.