Response surface methodology optimization of electrospinning process parameters to fabricate aligned polyvinyl butyral nanofibers for interlaminar toughening of phenolic-based composite laminates

Abstract

In this study and for the first time, aligned nanofibers were produced from low molecular weight polyvinyl butyral. Using response surface methodology, the preparation condition of aligned nanofiber was optimized in terms of nanofiber diameter and its structural stability. Central composite design as a response surface methodology was employed and the effects of process variables and their influence on nanofiber diameter were investigated. Based on a statistical analysis, the use of a model, which was used to determine the nanofiber diameter, proved to be successful because of its low probability value (0.0073) and high correlation coefficient (0.9619). A high-speed cylinder collector was used to fabricate aligned polyvinyl butyral nanofibers. The optimum conditions of 17.5 kV voltage, 10 cm collector distance, 13% solution concentration, and 2100 r/min rotational speed were obtained from experiments. The least diameter of 158.6 nm along with a stable structure was determined for polyvinyl butyral nanofiber prepared under the optimum conditions. An aligned polyvinyl butyral nanoweb was applied on the mid-layer of glass-phenolic laminated composites as an interlaminar reinforcement. The fracture behavior of the laminates was determined by end-notched flexure tests. Excellent toughening property which was observed for the aligned polyvinyl butyral nanofibers caused the mode-II fracture toughness and its maximum force to increase by 25.2 and 40.8%, respectively.

Mathematical modeling of electrospinning process of silk fibroin/gelatin nanofibrous mat: Comparison of the accuracy of GMDH and RSM models

“…Mouse fibroblast L-929 cells were supplied by national cell bank of Iran, Pasteur Institute of Iran, according to the same procedures in the literature [17–25]. Firstly, the cells were cultured using RPMI 1640 medium supplemented by 10 v/v% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and 1 v/v% penicillin–streptomycin.…”

“…used the RSM method to model and optimize the electrospinning parameters for polyvinylacetate (PVAc) nanofibers. The results indicated that concentrations and voltage played an important role in the diameter [18,19]. Moreover, Yördem et al.…”

Desired properties and corresponding improvement measures of electrospun nanofibers for membrane distillation, reinforcement, and self‐healing applications

“…The wider plastic zone due to nanofiber bridging leads to an improvement in the mode II fracture toughness. [ 130, 131 ] Saghafi et al found that the thickness of the nanofibrous mat is one of the main factors that affect the fracture toughness of modified laminates, where doubling the thickness approximately doubles the fracture toughness. [ 130 ] A rough fracture surface, bridging behavior, and plastic deformation over delamination consume a considerable amount of energy.…”

“…The addition of aligned nanofibers with a thickness of 5 mm and a diameter of 158 nm led to a 25% increase in the mode II fracture toughness compared with that of the virgin laminates. [ 131 ] Under a DCB mode I test, carbon fiber (CF) and virgin epoxy laminates presented a rather smooth CF surface with delamination propagating along the interface between the matrix and CFs, indicating the weak bonding of the interface relative to that of the epoxy. [ 133 ] After nanofibers (PA66) were added to the epoxy, cohesive failure occurred, indicating that delamination occurred in the interlaminar region instead of at the interface between the CFs and matrix.…”

Electro‐conductive nanofibrous structure based on PGS/PCL coated with PPy by in situ chemical polymerization applicable as cardiac patch: Fabrication and optimization

“…The ultimate goal in RSM is to optimize a response. The RSM has recently been employed to optimize the diameters of polyacrylic acid (PAA), 33 PCL 34 and poly (vinyl butyral) PVB 35,36 nanofibers, biodegradability, biocompatibility, stress and strain of PCL/gelatin/polydimethylsiloxane nanofibers, 37 diameter and arrangement of PAN nanofibers 38 and proton conductivity of polysulfone (PS) nanofibers 39 …”