Electrospun nanofibers for enhancing structural performance of composite materials

Abstract

Over the past six decades, engineered composite materials found wide ranging applications in land, sea and air transport vehicles, space exploration, military equipment and defense, storage, buildings and construction, chemical processing, electrical engineering, healthcare, and general engineering industries. Performance of engineered composites is tailored for an intended application by judiciously selecting the matrix and reinforcement materials, by modifying the fiber–matrix interface, and by controlling the architecture of fibers in the matrix. Most widely used reinforcement fibers are micron size diameter fibers. There is growing need for engineered composites with enhanced structural performance in newer applications as well as existing applications, which are expected to meet higher functional requirements and enhanced safety requirements. Moreover the global movement toward sustainable development is seeking engineered materials which are environmentally benign. Recently the electrospinning process has emerged as a viable industrial process to produce nanofibers from a variety of materials including naturally occurring polymers. This paper illustrates the benefits of using electrospun nanofibers in enhancing the structural performance of engineered composite materials. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Electrospun nanofibers as reinforcement for composite laminates materials – A review

“…In the last few decades, the research community showed great interest on the potential of nanofibers as reinforcement for laminates, and three reviews have been already published on this topic [12][13][14]. The first one presents the mechanical improvements of interleaving a polymeric structure (either particles, films or nanofibers) between composite laminae, while the other two focus on the range of possible applications and the actual benefits of nanomodifying laminates with nanofibers.…”

Structural composites hybridized with epoxy compatible polymer/MWCNT nanofibrous interlayers

“…Dzenis observed that entangled nanofibers improve interlaminar fracture resistance much like the hooks and loops in Velcro and also play a part in crack deflection, nanofiber pull-out, plastic deformation, and crack bridging [4]. This pioneering idea was then applied to several composite systems and studied under various testing conditions [5][6][7][8][9][10] which were thoroughly reviewed and discussed by Zucchelli et al [11].…”

Design of Nanostructured Functional Coatings by Using Wet-Chemistry Methods

“…In the last 15 years, the number of scientific papers related to this technique has shown an exponential growth due to the numerous intrinsic advantages of this nanofabrication technique such as high simplicity, versatility, effectiveness, low-cost and quickness of the fabrication process. Due to all these advantages, it makes possible its implementation in a wide range of industrial applications [28][29][30][31][32]. In this process, the diameter and density of the ENFs are influenced by critical fabrication parameters such as viscosity of the precursor solution, applied voltage, the flow rate and the distance between collector/needle.…”

“…As will be commented upon in the following section related to functional applications of nanostructured coatings, these optical fiber sensors based on ENFs show a very fast response time, being a critical parameter in the field of sensors market [37]. range of industrial applications [28][29][30][31][32]. In this process, the diameter and density of the ENFs are influenced by critical fabrication parameters such as viscosity of the precursor solution, applied voltage, the flow rate and the distance between collector/needle.…”