Compression resistance and hysteresis of carbon fibre tows with grown carbon nanotubes/nanofibres

► CNT-grafted fibre tows are poorly compressible, the same as CNT-grafted fabrics. ► Tow thickness under given pressure increases by 30–40% for 6 wt.% CNT growth. ► High fibre volume fraction of CNT-grafted textile difficult at pressure of few bars. Growth of carbon nanotubes (CNT) or carbon nano-fibres (CNF) on fibrous substrates is a way to increase the fracture toughness of fibre reinforced composites (FRC), with encouraging results reported in the recent years. The issues for these materials related to manufacturing of these composites are, however, less investigated. Following the study of compressibility of woven carbon fibre preforms with CNT/CNFs grown on the fibres using the CVD method [Compos Sci Technol 2011; 71(3): 315–325], this paper describes compression tests on the carbon tows used in these fabrics. The results of the measurements include pressure vs. thickness diagrams in consecutive compression cycles and hysteresis of the compression. The results confirm a drastic change of compressibility of fibrous assemblies in the presence of CNT/CNF grafting.