Carbon Fiber/Carbon Nanotube Buckypaper Interply Hybrid Composites: Manufacturing Process and Tensile Properties

Abstract

This paper reports on a study of carbon nanotube (CNT) thin film, or buckypaper (BP), integrated into carbon fiber (CF) prepreg composites to create hybrid composite materials with high CNT content. The autoclave process of manufacturing hybrid composite laminates was investigated to gain an understanding of nano/micro dual-scale resin flow characteristics. The study found that resin bleeding along the through-thickness direction was inhibited due to extra-low permeability and high resin absorbing capacity of the BP. Resin matrix-impregnated BP layers were much thicker than dry pristine BP due to high resin absorbency and swelling effects. The BP/unidirectional carbon fiber (UD-CF) hybrid composites with local fiber volume fraction of 61.46 vol% in CF ply and local CNT volume fraction of 26.57 vol% in BP layer, had a tensile strength of 2519 AE 101 MPa and modulus of 149 AE 18 GPa. The dramatic improvements in both in-plane and through-thickness electrical conductivities demonstrate potential for both structural and multifunctional applications of the resultant hybrid composites.

In Situ Curing and Out‐of‐Autoclave of Interply Carbon Fiber/Carbon Nanotube Buckypaper Hybrid Composites Using Electrical Current

“…Additional pressure of 207 MPa at the first curing stage and 690 MPa at the second curing stage were applied using a hydraulic press. The control samples were fabricated using the autoclave curing process …”

“…Integrating CNT networks inside composites can also produce self‐healing and self‐repair functions to the composite . Our group successfully manufactured CF/CNT buckypaper interply hybrid composites with significantly improved electrical properties without trading off loss of mechanical properties . Although CNT‐based multifunctional composites have been extensively researched, its function in terms of composite manufacturing requires further study.…”

High‐performance thermoplastic hybrid composite reinforced with bucky paper for electromagnetic interference shielding

“…In addition, the adsorption and desorption curves are steep when relative vapor pressure P/P o is higher than 0.9, which is because relative pressure is centered when both cohesion and evaporation occur, indicating that BPs with three thicknesses have typical mesopore features. As a result, the adsorption and desorption behaviors of BP are not dependent on the thickness . The pore size distribution curves computed by BJH model are shown in Fig.…”

“…Admittedly, the specific surface area slightly increases as a result of the increasing thickness of BP. A larger thickness grants more MWCNTs to contact each other, which in turn increases the specific surface area .…”

Carbon Fiber Composites Based on Multi‐Phase Epoxy/PES Matrices with Carbon Nanotubes: Morphology and Interlaminar Fracture Toughness Characterization

“…Early onset of delaminations can jeopardize the reliability of composite structures by shortening their fatigue life and reducing the load carrying capacity, particularly under compressive loads. [8][9][10] Thermoplastic materials are known to increase the energy consumed by crack propagation due to their ability to undergo high inelastic deformations. Toughening of intrinsically brittle epoxy matrices has, therefore, been an important field of research for several decades.…”