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Purpose: The aim of this study is to determine the fracture behavior of wool felt and fabric based epoxy composites and their responses to electromagnetic waves. Design/methodology/approach: Notched and unnotched tensile tests of composites made of wool only and hybridized with a glass fiber layer were carried out, and fracture behavior and toughness at macro scale were determined. They were exposed to electromagnetic waves between 8 and 18 GHz frequencies using two horn antennas. Findings: The keratin and lignin layer on the surface of the wool felt caused lower values to be obtained compared to the mechanical values given by pure epoxy. However, the use of wool felt in the symmetry layer of the laminated composite material provided higher mechanical values than the composite with glass fiber in the symmetry layer due to the mechanical interlocking it created. The use of wool in fabric form resulted in an increase in the modulus of elasticity, but no change in fracture toughness was observed. As a result of the electromagnetic analysis, it was also seen in the electromagnetic analysis that the transmittance of the materials was high, and the reflectance was low throughout the applied frequency range. Hence, it was concluded that all of the manufactured materials could be used as radome material over a wide band. Practical implications: Sheep wool is an easy-to-supply and low-cost material. In this paper, it is presented that sheep wool can be evaluated as a biocomposite material and used for radome applications. Originality/value: The combined evaluation of felt and fabric forms of a natural and inexpensive reinforcing element such as sheep wool and the combined evaluation of fracture mechanics and electromagnetic absorption properties will contribute to the evaluation of biocomposites in aviation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to systematically compare the effect of increasing fiber–matrix interface adhesion and matrix toughness in layered composite materials. Design/methodology/approach: Silane ((3-glycidyloxypropyl) trimethoxysilane) was applied to strengthen the fiber–matrix interface connection in e-glass/epoxy laminated composite material. Using a cationic surfactant, 0.1% multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were added to the matrix in two different ways, by with and without chemical functionalization using the vacuum infusion method. Findings: In the results obtained from the three-point bending test specimens, it was determined that the synergistic effect of silane application and non-functionalized CNT in the matrix was higher in terms of flexural modulus and strength values. Practical implications: The functionalization of multi-walled CNT did not give the expected results because of reasons such as viscosity increase and agglomeration in the matrix. Originality/value: In this study, a simple model for normalization and prediction purposes was developed, which allows the determination of the flexural modulus and un-notched flexural strength values from one test result of the notched specimen. A systematic comparison was performed by varying each parameter in the composite material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]