Water absorption and mechanical property of continuous carbon fiber/polyamide 6 composites

Continuous carbon fiber reinforced polyamide 6 (CF/PA6) unidirectional laminates with three different isothermal crystallization time were prepared. The tensile tests of 0° and 90°, the bending and interlaminar shear tests before and after water absorption of CF/PA6 composites were then respectively performed. The results show that the strength (and modulus) of 0° and 90° tensile, bending and interlaminar shear of CF/PA6 composites are decreased by 10%-37% (0-0.6%), 35%-46% (62%-64%), 53%-61% (16%-28%) and 5%-31%, respectively. The effect mechanism of water absorption on the properties of CF/PA6 composite is given with the help of further characterization methods of SEM and metallographic microscopy.