Influence of multiwall carbon nanotube alignment on vibration damping of nanocomposites

Abstract

In the present work, the damping behavior of multiwall carbon nanotubes/polymer nanocomposites has been studied by aligning the carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the matrix using DC electric field during the curing of composite. Nanocomposite specimens have been fabricated for three different CNT loadings (0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 wt%) to prepare two types, namely randomly oriented and aligned. The alignment of nanocomposites has developed a strong anisotropy in the composite. Microstructural analysis and electrical conductivity tests are carried out to examine the CNTs alignment. It is evident from the obtained results that a significant improvement is achieved in electrical conductivity of aligned nanocomposites over randomly oriented one. Dynamic mechanical analysis and flexural vibration experiments have been performed to study the frequency dependent damping behavior of nanocomposites. In case of aligned nanocomposites, significant enhancement is noticed in the material damping for the tested frequency band width of 0-30 Hz; also the flexural tests have shown an improvement up to 37% in structural damping compared to randomly oriented. The influence of CNT coating on fiber in improving anisotropic nature of fiber has been studied experimentally and it is found that the coating of CNT reinforced resin has enhanced simultaneously the straining capability and anisotropic nature of the fiber, without compromising its mechanical properties. Further, the vibration damping behavior of the CNT coated fiber is evaluated using digital image correlation technique and it is noticed that CNT dispersion on the fiber improves its damping ability by 2.6%.

Effect of carbon nanotube reinforcement on the natural frequencies and damping ratios of nanocomposite beams

“…Dynamic mechanical analysis and flexural vibration experiments are performed to observe the behavior of the specimens. In case of aligned nanocomposites, significant enhancement is noticed in the material damping for the tested frequency band width of 0-30 Hz; also the flexural tests have shown an improvement up to 37% in structural damping compared to randomly oriented [4].…”

Tensile, Fatigue and Vibration Damping Characteristics of High Performance Glass Fiber Reinforced Composites with Aligned MWNTs

“…Most previous studies were related to improving the mechanical, vibration damping and electrical properties of epoxy-based nanocomposites and fiber reinforced nanocomposites with CNTs distributed randomly in their matrix, but the influence of CNT alignment was not much studied. In our previous work [13][14], we have studied the effect of CNT alignment on fatigue and vibration damping in epoxy-based nanocomposites. Now in our present work, we studied the effects of CNT alignment on tensile, fatigue and vibration damping characteristics of CNT/GFRP hybrid composites.…”

“…After Iijima developed coaxial tube structures made of carbon at nano dimension [12], the scientific community has devoted significant efforts to enhance the composite properties by using CNTs as promising structural reinforcement [13][14]. The carbon nanotubes exhibit excellent mechanical, thermal and electrical properties due to its 1D structure.…”

Processing, manufacturing, and characterization of vibration damping in epoxy composites modified with graphene nanoplatelets

“…Some studies on damping and experimental vibration of polymer nanocomposites reinforced with carbon nanomaterials have been published. Analytical models on vibration and damping of two‐phase and three‐phase carbon nanotubes‐reinforced composite structures have been proposed by several researchers. For instance, Rafiee et al proposed mathematical models for effective material properties of multiscale polymer nanocomposites reinforced with carbon nanotubes and graphene .…”