It has been demonstrated in a previous study that carbon nanotube (CNT)/epoxy/basalt composites produce better flexural properties than epoxy/basalt composites. In this study, mode I fracture tests were conducted using CNT/epoxy/basalt composites with and without seawater absorption in order to investigate the effect of the seawater absorption on the mode I fracture toughness (GIC) of the CNT/epoxy/basalt composites. The results demonstrated that the compliance of the seawater-absorbed specimen was larger than that of the dry specimen at the same crack length, while the opposite result was obtained for the fracture load. The GIC value of the seawater-absorbed CNT/epoxy/basalt composites was approximately 20% lower than that of the dry CNT/epoxy/basalt composites.

• Man Tae Kim(Gumi Electronics & Information Technology Research Institute)
• Kyong Yop Rhee(School of Mechanical Engineering, Kyung Hee University) Corresponding Author
• Hyun Ju Kim(Maritime and Ocean Engineering Research Institute, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology)
• Dong Ho Jung(Maritime and Ocean Engineering Research Institute, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology)