PSI - Issue 68

ScienceDirect Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2025) 000–000 Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2025) 000–000 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ScienceDirect Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ScienceDirect

www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

Procedia Structural Integrity 68 (2025) 160–165

European Conference on Fracture 2024 The hybridization effect on the mechanical and piezoresistive behavior of epoxy nanocomposites J.M. Parente a, *, A.P. Silva a , P.N.B. Reis b a C-MAST, Centre for Mechanical and Aerospace Science and Technologies, Universidade da Beira Interior, Rua Marquês d’Avila e Bolama, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal b University of Coimbra, CEMMPRE, ARISE, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal Abstract Epoxy composites are used in a wide range of industrial applications due to their excellent mechanical properties. Furthermore, they can be functionalized by incorporating carbon-based nanomaterials, such as graphene with carbon nanotubes, to improve their mechanical performance and simultaneously provide an electrical response for very specific applications. Therefore, the main goal of this study is to analyze the mechanical and electrical properties of an epoxy resin reinforced with graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for industrial applications. For this purpose, several systems involving different amounts of nano reinforcements were produced and evaluated to determine the architecture that simultaneously maximizes the bending strength and electrical conductivity. The results showed that the hybridization with 0.25 wt.% CNT and 0.5 wt.% GNP led to the most pronounced increases in mechanical and piezoresistivity properties suggesting that hybrid nano-reinforcements have enormous potential for obtaining multifunctional and high-performance materials for structural and/or sensors applications. © 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of ECF24 organizers Keywords: Epoxy nanocomposites; hybrid nano-reinforcements; bending strength; piezoresistivity 1. Introduction Epoxy nanocomposites are very promising materials due to their mechanical properties and functional capabilities, particularly in applications where strength, durability, and multifunctionality are essential (Frigione and Lettieri, 2020; European Conference on Fracture 2024 The hybridization effect on the mechanical and piezoresistive behavior of epoxy nanocomposites J.M. Parente a, *, A.P. Silva a , P.N.B. Reis b a C-MAST, Centre for Mechanical and Aerospace Science and Technologies, Universidade da Beira Interior, Rua Marquês d’Avila e Bolama, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal b University of Coimbra, CEMMPRE, ARISE, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal Abstract Epoxy composites are used in a wide range of industrial applications due to their excellent mechanical properties. Furthermore, they can be functionalized by incorporating carbon-based nanomaterials, such as graphene with carbon nanotubes, to improve their mechanical performance and simultaneously provide an electrical response for very specific applications. Therefore, the main goal of this study is to analyze the mechanical and electrical properties of an epoxy resin reinforced with graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for industrial applications. For this purpose, several systems involving different amounts of nano reinforcements were produced and evaluated to determine the architecture that simultaneously maximizes the bending strength and electrical conductivity. The results showed that the hybridization with 0.25 wt.% CNT and 0.5 wt.% GNP led to the most pronounced increases in mechanical and piezoresistivity properties suggesting that hybrid nano-reinforcements have enormous potential for obtaining multifunctional and high-performance materials for structural and/or sensors applications. © 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of ECF24 organizers Keywords: Epoxy nanocomposites; hybrid nano-reinforcements; bending strength; piezoresistivity 1. Introduction Epoxy nanocomposites are very promising materials due to their mechanical properties and functional capabilities, particularly in applications where strength, durability, and multifunctionality are essential (Frigione and Lettieri, 2020; © 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of ECF24 organizers

* Corresponding author. E-mail address: joao.miguel.parente@ubi.pt * Corresponding author. E-mail address: joao.miguel.parente@ubi.pt

2452-3216 © 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of ECF24 organizers 2452-3216 © 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of ECF24 organizers

2452-3216 © 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of ECF24 organizers 10.1016/j.prostr.2025.06.037