DAMAGE TOLERANT COMPOSITES CONTAINING INFUSIBLE PARTICLES

摘要

DAMAGE TOLERANT COMPOSITES CONTAINING INFUSIBLE PARTICLES Damage tolerant structural composites comprising high strength filaments in the form of bundles or tows of continuous fiber and a crosslinked epoxy resin matrix are disclosed. The invention, more particularly relates to improvements in the crosslinked epoxy resin matrix which provide the structural composites with high post impact compressive strength while maintaining such other desirable attributes of epoxy composites as good high temperature performance, solvent resistance and good processing characteristics. The crosslinked epoxy resin matrix contains infusible particles that reside primarily between plies of the composite and have a median particle size between 5 - 75 microns. Prepregs for making the damage tolerant composites and methods of making such prepregs and the epoxy resin compositions thereof are also disclosed. The epoxy resin compositions contain the infusible particles which become segregated as to size on a surface layer of the prepreg during the process of combining the high strength filaments of the prepreg and the resin containing the epoxy resin composition. Alternatively, the infusible particles may be disposed directly on the epoxy resin surface of the prepreg.