Mechanical Analysis of Polybenzoxazine Matrix in Fiber Metal Laminates

In this work we investigated the application of a novel high performance polymer, polybenzoxazine, as a polymeric matrix in Fiber Metal Laminates (FML). This polymer, when applied on the development of FMLs, generated higher mechanical properties in comparison to fiber metal laminates obtained with epoxy. To investigate the mechanical performance of the polybenzoxazine matrix in FMLs, a mechanical behavior comparison was carried out among epoxy matrix laminates - glass fiber reinforced aluminum laminate (GLARE) and carbon fiber reinforced aluminum laminate (CARALL) - and FML constructed with aluminum and carbon fiber reinforced polybenzoxazine. The mechanical properties were characterized by drop weight impact and flexural methods, and the polybenzoxazine curing behavior through differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Polybenzoxazine FML generated increasing of: 18% of maximum load, 11% of maximum elongation under flexure and 7.5% of impact energy absorption compared to other fiber metal laminates.