Bonding Unidirectional Carbon Nanotube with Carbon for High Performance
Abstract
Producing unidirectional carbon nanotube (CNT) composites with a structural morphology identical to aerospace grade carbon fiber composites is a challenging task that until this work, no research groups had accomplished. This research team demonstrated the ability to produce high volume fraction CNT composites with a high level of alignment, low level of CNT waviness and uniform distribution of polymer surrounding the CNTs. This was accomplished through a process called spray winding. In this process polymer solution was sprayed onto aligned CNT sheets as they were taken up onto a mandrel. In addition, a micro-combing technique was developed where a razor blade was used to further aligned and straighten CNTs within the CNT sheets during winding. The ability to integrate a matrix material at the molecular level among long, highly aligned CNTs allowed for record breaking specific strengths, higher than their carbon fiber composite counterparts. In addition to CNT-polymer matrix composites, the team produced CNT-carbon matrix composites that have a morphology that resembles carbon fiber-carbon composites utilized in the aerospace industry, with a nanostructured architecture of aligned CNTs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 24, 2015
- Accession Number
- ADA618618
Entities
People
- Philip D. Bradford
- Y.T. Zhu
Organizations
- North Carolina State University