Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Flexible Windows for Blast Protection
Abstract
The objective of this program was to fabricate a carbon nanotube (CNT)-reinforced transparent plastic composite for use as a material for window or as a laminate layer in the blast-resistant glazed window. This program focused exclusively on assembling CNTs into highly organized structures and using CNT assemblies as a filler to reinforce the transparent plastic materials. This program demonstrated that using a highly organized CNT assembly such as CNT yarns as filler was an efficient way to improve the properties of polymeric composite while keeping the transparency of the composite. The reinforcement was significant. When using PMMA (poly(methyl methacrylate)) as the polymeric matrix, the modulus and strength of the composite increased linearly with the increase of CNT content. For the 17 wt% CNT-containing PMMA/CNT-yarn composite, compared to the neat PMMA sheet, the tensile strength, modulus, and toughness of the composite had a 5-fold, 10-fold, and 8-fold improvement, respectively. The composite had more than 40% transmittance even when the CNT content was 9 wt%. The technology developed in this program can be applied to other polymeric matrices.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA534185
Entities
People
- Ben Wang
- Chuck Zhang
- Mei Zhang
- Richard Liang
Organizations
- Florida A&M University