Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Pei Xu, Bincheng Huang, Ruobing Tang, Zhenfeng Wang, Jiaying Tu, Yunsheng Ding
Summary: This study focuses on the functionalization and distribution of conductive fillers, as well as the interfacial compatibilization of polymer blends, in order to improve the electrical conductivity and electromagnetic interference shielding efficiency of composites. By modifying the carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with an ionic liquid copolymer and controlling the blending process, selective localization of CNTs at the interphase and the formation of effective conductive networks at the interface were achieved. This resulted in a significant increase in electrical conductivity and a maximum EMI shielding efficiency of 41 dB for the PLA/PCL/PIL/CNT composites.
ADVANCED COMPOSITES AND HYBRID MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Jie-Hua Cai, Xiao-Hong Tang, Xu-Dong Chen, Ming Wang
Summary: Elastomer composites with temperature and strain-induced tunable EMI shielding effectiveness were successfully obtained by introducing temperature-sensitive microspheres (TSM) into PDMS/CNT mixture. The mechanism of temperature and strain-induced regulation on EMI shielding was investigated, showing that TSM particles could rearrange the CNT conductive network at specific temperature and strain levels. Temperature-induced regulation led to a decrease in EMI SE at 120°C, partially recovering at 150°C, while strain-induced regulation resulted in reduced EMI SE after 70% compression, partially recovering at 120°C.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Kexin Chen, Yuezhan Feng, Yongqian Shi, Hengrui Wang, Libi Fu, Miao Liu, Yuancai Lv, Fuqiang Yang, Bin Yu, Minghua Liu, Pingan Song
Summary: This research focuses on the development of thermoplastic polyurethane composites with outstanding flame retardancy and electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness. A novel air-assisted thermocompression technology was used to fabricate sandwich-structured composites. The composites exhibited significant reduction in heat release rate and smoke release rate, as well as high electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Composites
Hao Zheng, Guojun Song, Junjie Zhu, Chaohang Wang, Lina Zhang, Li Li, Wenjian Zhang, Bowen Li, Guangshun Wu, Xiaoping Yang, Caifeng Wang, Lichun Ma
Summary: In this study, the modulus difference between carbon fiber (CF) and resin was reduced and a gentle modulus transition was achieved through the structural design of CF and resin, which resulted in enhanced interfacial properties of the CF/EP composite. A multi-stage modulus gradient decreasing structure was constructed, dispersing external stress effectively for excellent interface properties. The bi-directional structural design increased the ILSS of CF/EP composites, providing new ideas for improving the mechanical properties of CF composites.
COMPOSITES COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
William A. Pisani, Matthew S. Radue, Sagar Umesh Patil, Gregory M. Odegard
Summary: Flattened carbon nanotubes (flCNTs) show potential as a form of composite material reinforcement with self-assembly and packing efficiency, and computational methods are used to drive their design through efficient polymer selection. The choice of polymer matrix is crucial for the properties at the reinforcement/polymer interface, impacting the overall performance of the composite materials. The predictions suggest that the fluorinated cyanate ester demonstrates the best overall compatibility with flCNTs, showing higher resistance to shearing and peak tension strength compared to other polymer systems.
COMPOSITES PART B-ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Jiaming Zhu, Jiabin Shen, Shaoyun Guo, Chul B. Park
Summary: The study showed that PDA@CNT/PVDF composites achieved desirable dielectric properties under supercritical CO2 foaming conditions, with significantly reduced dielectric permittivity and loss factor; increasing the expansion ratio helped reduce the polarizability within particle/polymer interfaces and promote the disaggregation of conductive particles; more nucleation points and space restrictions led to the formation of more cells, with mild growth in cell size, facilitating the reduction of inter-particle spacing and disentanglement.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Akbar Bashir, Muhammad Maqbool, Ali Usman, Ruicong Lv, Hongyu Niu, Lei Kang, Zubair Shulin, Shulin Bai
Summary: The study proposes a novel approach to improve the thermal conductivity and electrical insulation of polymer composites by synthesizing a hybrid material of chemically interconnected hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO). The experimental results show that this hybrid filler can significantly enhance the thermal conductivity and volume resistivity in polymer composites, as well as improve the mechanical properties.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Ya Yi, Shiyi Feng, Zehang Zhou, Canhui Lu
Summary: In this study, mechanical grinding was used to disperse MXene particles in PVA aqueous solution and delaminate them into nanosheets. The results showed that the increased specific surface area and functional groups of delaminated MXene nanosheets greatly improved the interfacial interactions and gel network of MXene-PVA composites, leading to enhanced mechanical properties and electrical/thermal conductivities.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2022)
Article
Mechanics
Lina Riano, Jean-Francois Chailan, Yoann Joliff
Summary: This study simulated the effects of humid tropical aging on a unidirectional composite by considering an interphase region, using micromechanical approach. Numerical micro-models were developed to predict the mechanical behavior of the composite, with results showing the importance of considering composite interphase in numerical models for mechanical behavior.
COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Nicoleta Preda, Andreea Costas, Matteo Lilli, Francesca Sbardella, Christina Scheffler, Jacopo Tirillo, Fabrizio Sarasini
Summary: Basalt fibers functionalized with ZnO electroless deposition show significantly enhanced interfacial strength with an epoxy resin matrix, while also improving the wetting properties of the basalt fabrics. ZnO-coated basalt fabrics feature uniform coatings of ZnO nanostructures with a wurtzite structure, transforming the hydrophilic fabric to hydrophobic. The electroless deposition of ZnO provides an effective method to improve the mechanical performance of basalt/epoxy composites without significant degradation of the pristine basalt fiber tensile strength.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Qing Wu, Huanhuan Bai, Xin Yang, Jianfeng Zhu
Summary: In this study, an innovative use of vacuum filtration approach is proposed to modify the circumferential surface of structural carbon fiber, aiming to improve the interfacial adhesion of composites by constructing a synergistic hydrogen bond network. The obtained hybrid reinforcement exhibits significantly higher interfacial shear strength compared to untreated fiber and CNF/CNT grafted fiber. The improvement is mainly attributed to the formation of dense hydrogen bonds among CNFs, PVA, and CNTs, leading to larger energy consumption at interphase, as well as the spider's web-like structure of CNF/CNT that deflects cracks and promotes stress transfer.
COMPOSITES PART B-ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Qing Wu, Huanhuan Bai, Hao Deng, Ziyi Ye, Qingyu Wang, Jianfeng Zhu
Summary: Conventional carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites face the challenge of balancing strength and toughness. This study proposes a new solution by constructing alternating carbon nanotubes (CNTs) structures, which significantly improve the interfacial properties and result in composites with higher strength and toughness.
COMPOSITES PART B-ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Peiwen Yang, Yuhang Sun, Gang Li, Xiaoping Yang, Xiaobiao Zuo
Summary: The study investigates the effect of the rigid/flexible proportion on the interfacial properties of M40X composites by constructing a rigid-flexible interphase using a polyamide acid-polyether amine block copolymer. Experimental and molecular dynamic simulation methods are used to explore the correlation. The results show that an increase in the proportion of flexible segments leads to improved chemical activity and uniform coverage on the PAE-CF surface. The interphase reinforcing mechanisms and the balance between interfacial stiffness and toughness are achieved through optimal rigid/flexible ratios.
COMPOSITES PART B-ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Akbar Bashir, Muhammad Maqbool, Ruicong Lv, Ali Usman, Waseem Aftab, Hongyu Niu, Lei Kang, Shu-Lin Bai
Summary: The demand for high thermal conductivity has led to the development of materials that can efficiently manipulate thermal energy. Polymer-based composites on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) are effective for providing thermally conductive and electrically insulating pathways, but it is difficult to establish strong interfacial connections within polymer chains using BN alone. In this study, hydroxylation of h-BN and carbon nanotubes (CNT) was achieved, followed by the formation of a urethane crosslink between the filler-filler interfaces and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) matrix. This unique hybrid structure achieved an unprecedented thermal conductivity of 4.52 Wm-1K-1 at just 60 wt% loading of h-BN and 2 wt% of CNT, as well as outstanding yielding strength and Young's modulus by tension.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Junwei Lyu, Boya Liu, Xinyi Huang, Miaoxuan Liu, Yiyang Chen, Qian Yin, Yang Liu, Xiangyang Liu
Summary: In this article, the authors addressed the challenge of balancing high strength and high toughness in fiber reinforced polymer composite structure design. They achieved a strong and tough interface with high grafting density by preparing a protonated fiber surface and converting the interfacial molecular configuration from crosslinking to linearity. Experiments showed that this enhanced interfacial tearing toughness and increased the practical interfacial shear strength and interfacial shear toughness in the composite.
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Wenwu Zhang, Helezi Zhou, Bin Huang, Huamin Zhou, Xiongqi Peng
Summary: This paper investigates the tool-ply friction behavior of jute/PLA biocomposites in thermoforming. A pull-through friction testing device was developed to characterize the tool-ply friction behavior of jute/PLA prepreg at elevated temperature. The effects of alkali treatment, fiber orientation, normal force, and slipping velocity were studied, and a quantitative definition of tool-ply friction behavior was achieved. The results indicate a strong relationship between tool-ply friction behavior and woven and fiber structures, indicating hydrodynamic lubrication.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Stephen Clay, Wesley Ault, Alex Faupel, Caglar Oskay, Philip Knoth, Noam N. Y. Shemesh, Rami Haj-Ali, Uri Breiman, Ido Meshi, Ofir Shor
Summary: This paper presents an experimental investigation on the compression failure mechanisms of laminated carbon fiber reinforced composites under non-standard quasi-static loading. The results demonstrate the presence of interior kink bands, surface ply splitting, and delaminations, with each failure mechanism associated with different stress levels.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Bowen Zeng, Jinlong Yang, Zhi Ni, Yucheng Fan, Ziyan Hang, Chuang Feng
Summary: This study successfully improved the pyroelectric properties of PVDF films by preparing functionally graded graphene nanoplatelet (FG-GNP) reinforced PVDF composite films. The increase in the number of layers and the concentration of GNP near the surface of the composite film were found to enhance the pyroelectric properties and temperature stability.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Shenghe Zhang, Fukai Chu, Weizhao Hu, Bibo Wang, Richard K. K. Yuen, Yuan Hu
Summary: This study improves the flame retardancy and mechanical properties of PBAT by synthesizing a phosphorus-containing intercalator and mixing it into the PBAT matrix.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Tharan Gordon, Michael R. Wisnom, Byung Chul Kim
Summary: Thickness tapering is a common strategy for efficient and lightweight composite structures, but it can introduce delamination sites. This study investigated the use of ply scarfing method to improve the compressive failure stress of tapered laminates made from thick unidirectional non-crimp fabrics. The results showed that ply scarfing suppressed delamination and increased the failure stress by 60%.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Xin Wang, Yiting Qu, Junlei Bai, Fujun Xu, Bin Ding, Xiaohua Zhang
Summary: A solution-based strategy is proposed to achieve a strong bond between fibers and matrix in powder materials, resulting in improved mechanical properties, thermal conductivity, and fracture strain of the composites. The method also offers advantages such as enhanced powder flowability and thermal stability.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Xing Zhou, Guosheng Wang, Dexiang Li, Qi Wang, Keming Zhu, Yaya Hao, Yueyang Xu, Neng Li
Summary: This study successfully synthesized polyurethane elastomer by using degraded products from waste PET, and fabricated composites with carbon nanotubes for strain sensors. The composites showed good mechanical and durability performance, indicating a potential method for recycling waste PET into valuable and functional materials.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Fei Peng, Tingting Shan, Rongrui Chen, Jiulong Shi, Di Liu, Guoqiang Zheng, Chaojun Gao, Kun Dai, Chuntai Liu, Changyu Shen
Summary: Janus polymer films with distinct surface performance and potential applications were successfully prepared by vacuum-assisted hot-compressing method and spray coating. These films exhibit decent actuation performance and rapid selfpowered sensing property, and can be used for real-time acetone monitoring system.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Biao Cheng, Huafeng Quan, Yuefeng Zhang, Dong Huang, Tongqi Li, Chong Ye, Xingming Zhou, Zhen Fan, Yafang Zhang, Ting Ouyang, Fei Han, Hongbo Liu, Jinshui Liu
Summary: In this study, a binary graphite network was constructed to improve the thermal conductivity and control the formation of micrometer-scale open pores in phase change composites. The developed composites showed a high thermal conductivity and phase change enthalpy, making them promising for thermal control in space optical-mechanical systems and other critical aerospace components.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Shihao Zuo, Fei Cheng, Guangming Yang, Jiangzhou Li, Yongjun Deng, Guangjun Gou, Xuejun Cui, Yunsen Hu, Xiaozhi Hu
Summary: Micro-arc oxidation (MAO) treatment was used to modify aluminum (Al) alloys in order to improve bond strength with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP). The treatment successfully created a porous surface with better hardness, roughness, and wetting, and introduced resin pre-coating (RPC) and carbon nanotube (CNT) fiber bridging to improve the bonding interface. The combined treatments significantly increased the bond strength by up to 156.1%, indicating the feasibility of MAO as an alternative method for manufacturing high-performance Al-CFRP composites in industrial production.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
James Kratz, Christophe Paris, Karolina Gaska, Vincent Maes, Ivana Partridge, Philippe Olivier
Summary: Faster heating rates and higher process temperatures can reduce the total process time while achieving the same degree-of-cure. Thermal analysis shows that thermoplastic interleaf particles melt at the recommended curing temperature. A short dwell at a lower temperature can prevent the mixing of thermoplastic particles and thermoset pre-polymer.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Thomas Maierhofer, Evripides G. Loukaides, Craig Carr, Chiara Bisagni, Richard Butler
Summary: Joining thermoset composites via resistance welding provides an efficient method for aerospace structures with benefits such as high-volume manufacturing and simplified surface preparation. The influence of welding parameters on joint performance is assessed using Mode I fracture toughness testing. A Bayesian approach is employed to select high-performance parameters.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Jiangan You, Ling Cai, Ronghua Yu, Haiping Xing, Jian Xue, Ying Li, Zhiwei Jiang, Dongmei Cui, Tao Tang
Summary: In response to the global environmental pollution crisis caused by waste plastics, recyclable design is an effective solution. A CPVC/PUA nanocomposite foam was developed using the plasticizing-foaming-reinforcing strategy, combined with catalytic carbonization. The foam exhibited high expansion ratio, robustness, solvent resistance, flame-triggered shape memory effect, and ablation resistance. The foam could be directly upcycled into functional carbon foam with attractive electromagnetic interference shielding performance.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Siyao Chen, Zhiyu Chen, Yangling Ou, Junwei Lyu, Junning Li, Xiangyang Liu, Yang Liu
Summary: In this study, we demonstrated the significant effect of composite interface on temperature increase in electrical heaters. By selectively fluorinating the outer walls of carbon nanotubes and compositing them with cellulose nanofibers, improved interfacial phonon diffusion was achieved, leading to a higher temperature increase rate.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Yanjun He, Agnieszka Suliga, Alex Brinkmeyer, Mark Schenk, Ian Hamerton
Summary: A new thermoset resin system based on a polybenzoxazine blend showed good performance under high ATOX irradiation. It reduced erosion yield by forming a silicon-rich surface layer and improved the mechanical properties of CFRP laminates.
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
(2024)