Effect of Nano-Reinforcement Topologies on the Viscoelastic Performance of Carbon Nanotube/Carbon Fiber Hybrid Composites

Abstract

In this investigation, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were grown over carbon fiber fabrics via a relatively nondestructive synthesis technique. The MWCNTs patches were grown into three different topologies: uniform, fine patterned and coarse patterned. Hybrid carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites (CFRPs) were fabricated based on the patterned reinforcements. Tensile tests, dynamic mechanical thermal analyses (DMTA) and flexure load relaxation tests were carried out to investigate the effect of the patterned nano-reinforcement on the static, dynamic, glass transition, and viscoelastic performance of the hybrid composites. Results revealed that the hybrid composite based on fine-patterned topology achieved better performance over all other configurations as it exhibited about 19% improvement in both the strength and modulus over the reference composite with no MWCNTs. Additionally, the increase in glass transition for this composite was as high as 13%. The damping parameter (tan δ) was improved by 46%. The stress relaxation results underlined the importance of patterned MWCNTs in minimizing the stress decay at elevated temperatures and loading conditions. Utilizing patterned MWCNTs topology significantly reduced the stress decay percentage at the thermomechanical conditions 60 MPa and 75 °C from 16.7% to 7.8%. These improvements are attributed to both the enhanced adhesion and large interface area by placing MWCNTs and by inducing an interlocking mechanism that allows the interaction of the three constituents in load transfer, crack deflection and hindering undesired viscoelastic deformations under different thermomechanical loadings.

Hybrid Metal-Organic Frameworks/Carbon Fibers Reinforcements for Additively Manufactured Composites

“…We expected that the combination of carbon fibers and CNTs could yield a noticeable shift in Tg by hindering the polymer chain mobility, as we had noticed for composites with 60% wt. plain woven continuous carbon fibers [39]. However, it is inferred from the current study that MOFs and CNTs do not affect the mobility of epoxy chains in the glass transition region.…”

The Use of a Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube for Improving the Mechanical Performance of Epoxy Resin-Based Metal Oxide Hybrid Nanocomposites

“…The maximum tensile strength was observed to be 48.87 MPa for the EPR/0.1 MWCNT sample, increased by around 23% compared to pure EPR (39.73 MPa), which may be attributed to the interlocking mechanism between MWCNTs and EPR matrix. 28 The further increase in the MWCNT contents leads to a reduction in the tensile strength of PNCs due to the possibility of MWCNT agglomerations in the matrix. On the other hand, the elongation at break of EPR decreased gradually with increasing MWCNT contents, leading to a decrease in the toughness of the matrix.…”

Mitigating Crack Propagation in Hybrid Composites: An Experimental and Computational Study

“…These techniques produce a uniform and dense film of CNTs on the carbon fiber surface, which could prevent the epoxy from wetting individual fiber strands or even between the laminate plies. Hence, controlling growth density by altering the CNTs topology on the carbon fiber surface plays a significant role in determining the composite mechanical properties [27]. Moreover, patterned nanofillers could act as hurdles for interlaminar cracks propagating between the composite layers.…”