Modeling and optimization of electrospinning conditions of PVB nanofiber by RSM and PSO-LSSVM models for improved interlaminar fracture toughness of laminated composites

In this study, the diameter of polyvinyl butyral nanofibers was modeled using response surface method based on three variables, at three levels of central composite design and particle swarm optimization-least squares support vector machine. Under optimal conditions, the measured mean diameter of the nanofibers was 175 nm. Sensitivity analysis in both models showed that polyvinyl butyral concentration in the solution was found to be the most effective parameter on the nanofiber diameter. The voltage is placed in the next. Fracture toughness under Mode I condition shows that the use of electrospun nanowebs as an interlayer in the structure of multi-layers composite has a positive effect on the GIc which values for the oriented and random nanofibers modified samples increased by 60% and 55%, respectively. According to SEM images, the main mechanism of fracture toughness in these samples was crack deflection and nanofibers crack bridging.