Integrated Damage Sensing in Fibre‐Reinforced Composites with Extremely Low Carbon Nanotube Loadings

Abstract

A nanoengineered hybrid composite system has been developed, with integrated damage sensing capabilities at extremely low carbon nanotube (CNT) contents. The employed simple spray coating technique offers good spatial control and the possibility of localized CNT deposition, especially near the fibre/matrix interface, solving traditional problems associated with the incorporation of nanofillers in fibre-reinforced composite laminates such as increased resin viscosity and filtering effects. Moreover, the employed spraying technology has good potential for industrial scale-up.In situdamage sensing based on standard composite tests has been demonstrated for the first time on hybrid glass fibre/CNT composites using extremely low CNT loadings (below 0.1 wt.%) and shows great potential for localized structural health monitoring by controlled CNT deposition into damage prone zones.

Filtration effects of graphene nanoplatelets in resin infusion processes: Problems and possible solutions

“…There are a number of successful methodologies to introduce nanoparticles into FRPs which avoid filtration issues, including in-situ growth of nanoparticles (i.e. CNTs or graphene) onto reinforcing fibres or fabics by chemical vapour deposition [22,23], electrophoresic deposition to coat conductive fibre fabrics [24,25], or the direct deposition of nanoparticles onto fabrics by spray coating techniques [19]. Here we evaluate filler distribution using the simple method of direct spray coating GNPs onto fabrics and subsequently infusing these nano-enhanced fabrics with neat resin to produce a nanoengineered composite laminate.…”

“…The spraying setup consisted of an airbrush (Iwata HP-BCS) and air compressor (Iwata studio series) with a 30 psi air pressure and a 10 cm spraying distance from nozzle to glass fibre fabrics. A more detailed description of the spraying setup can be found in [19].…”

Graphite Nanoplatelet Modified Epoxy Resin for Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastics with Enhanced Properties

“…CNTs have also been reported to increase the ILSS of laminated composites. CNTs have been introduced via different routes, including doped resins [9], spray coating of CNT suspensions on fibre fabrics [27]; electrophoresis deposition (EPD) of CNTs on carbon fabrics [28]; growth of MWCNTs on the surface of fibre fabrics [29]; or the addition of plasma-functionalized MWCNTs [30]. Compared to these routes, direct vacuum infusion of GNP doped resin is the simplest method to deliver GNPs into composite laminates for enhanced multifunctional properties.…”

Selective damage sensing in multiscale hierarchical composites by tailoring the location of carbon nanotubes

“…With advances in nanotechnology, the electrical resistance approach has been recently extended to FRPCs with insulating fibers, by dispersing small amounts of CNTs into the matrix (typically <0.5 wt. %) (Thostenson and Chou, 2008;Gao et al, 2009a;Gao et al, 2009b;Friedrich et al, 2011;Fernberg et al, 2009) or placing/growing them onto fibers (An et al, 2013;Zhang et al, 2010;Sebastian et al, 2014;Gallo and Thostenson, 2015;Wiegand and Mäder, 2016;Hao et al, 2016;Gao et al, 2010;Zhang et al, 2015a;Zhang et al, 2015b). It has been proved that, when percolated into the matrix, CNTs form an electrically conductive network, which is sensitive to strain and composite damage (Thostenson and Chou, 2008;Gao et al, 2009a).…”