Tailoring interfacial interactions in fiber reinforced polymeric composites by the electrospray deposition of waterborne carbon nanotubes

Official URL: http://risc01.sabanciuniv.edu/record=b2325808 (Table of contents)

The utilization of fiber reinforced polymeric composites (FRPCs) has been broadening in recent years, especially in aerospace, automobile and marine industries, sports goods and many other high-performance applications, all of which demand enhanced thermal, electrical and mechanical properties. The ultimate performance of FRPCs can be enhanced by improving the fiber-matrix interface. Using nanophase reinforcements; tailoring fiber-matrix interface with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) or other carbon nanomaterials has shown significant improvements in properties of the composite. This thesis focuses on the deposition of CNTs onto carbon fabric (CF) surface by means of electrospray deposition and airbrush coating. Unlike the state-of-the-art methods to deposit carbon nanomaterials onto fiber surfaces, this study reports the deposition of CNTs from a waterborne dispersion, eliminates the use of organic volatile solvents and offers a method that is environmentally friendly and easily adaptable to large scale composite manufacturing processes. The hybrid CF-CNT structures prepared by surface deposition were used for the manufacturing of FPRCs by the vacuum infusion process (VIP) to assess the influence of CNTs on the stress transfer between the fiber-matrix interface. The surface morphology of the hybrid CNT-CF structures was characterized using scanning electron microscopy to verify homogeneous dispersion of CNTs on CF fabrics. CNTs deliberately placed at the fiber-matrix interface are expected to serve as stress transfer bridges between the fiber and the matrix and contribute to the enhancement of interlaminar shear strength and flexural properties. As by measured Mode I and Mode II interlaminar fracture testing experiment, CNT deposition on the CF surface strengthens the attachment of the laminate plies