3D waviness effect of carbon nanotubes on fundamental natural frequency and modeling of resonance of nanocomposite structure

Optimum waviness of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) inside a matrix composite beam and composite bridge is endeavor to obtain its utmost natural frequencies considering a volume fraction of CNTs. 3D FE model of the beam is generated via ABAQUS along with Python programming and thereafter to calculate an optimal waviness under encastre boundary conditions and different vibration modes. The effect of waviness and the number of waves on mode shapes, natural frequency, and corresponding stiffness of a beam are examined, and the outcomes are compared to those of a pure polymer beam, straight CNT-based composite beam and nanobridge value. It was decided to conduct a convergence analysis and the optimum value of the number of elements and nodes was studied and found that 19666 nodes are reliable to give correct results. The FE analysis results reveal that the waviness effect of CNTs significantly depends on mode shapes. The fundamental natural frequency, as well as other related vibrational properties, is observed to be enhanced. By decreasing the waviness from 50 to 25, there is an increment in natural frequency in the 3rd mode by 68.68, 5th mode by 44.6 and 6th mode by 62.4, but in other modes, there is negligible difference. When single-wave CNTs were compared, the sine wave produced more frequency in the third mode by 206.03, 4th mode by 199.8 and 6th mode by 478.6[Formula: see text]Hz. After comparing the results of different waviness types, single sine waviness, multi-waved CNTs, straight CNTs and neat matrix, it is found that for the highest value of waviness of CNT fiber-based nanocomposites, the natural frequency of CNT-reinforced nanocomposite reaches the frequency of the neat matrix and further adding of CNTs does not increase the value of frequency. The result showed that the finite element model (FEM) is a good simulation of the vibratory system.

Dynamic Mechanical Properties and Thermal Properties of Longitudinal Basalt/Woven Glass Fiber Reinforced Unsaturated Polyester Hybrid Composites

This study investigates the mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties of basalt/woven glass fiber reinforced polymer (BGRP) hybrid polyester composites. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to explore the chemical aspect, whereas the dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and thermomechanical analysis (TMA) were performed to determine the mechanical and thermal properties. The dynamic mechanical properties were evaluated in terms of the storage modulus, loss modulus, and damping factor. The FTIR results showed that incorporating single and hybrid fibers in the matrix did not change the chemical properties. The DMA findings revealed that the B7.5/G22.5 composite with 7.5 wt% of basalt fiber (B) and 22.5 wt% of glass fiber (G) exhibited the highest elastic and viscous properties, as it exhibited the higher storage modulus (8.04 × 109 MPa) and loss modulus (1.32 × 109 MPa) compared to the other samples. All the reinforced composites had better damping behavior than the neat matrix, but no further enhancement was obtained upon hybridization. The analysis also revealed that the B22.5/G7.5 composite with 22.5 wt% of basalt fiber and 7.5 wt% of glass fiber had the highest Tg at 70.80 °C, and increased by 15 °C compared to the neat matrix. TMA data suggested that the reinforced composites had relatively low dimensional stabilities than the neat matrix, particularly between 50 to 80 °C. Overall, the hybridization of basalt and glass fibers in unsaturated polyester formed composites with higher mechanical and thermal properties than single reinforced composites.

Development of Expanded Takayanagi Model for Tensile Modulus of Carbon Nanotubes Reinforced Nanocomposites Assuming Interphase Regions Surrounding the Dispersed and Networked Nanoparticles

In this paper, we consider the interphase regions surrounding the dispersed and networked carbon nanotubes (CNT) to develop and simplify the expanded Takayanagi model for tensile modulus of polymer CNT nanocomposites (PCNT). The moduli and volume fractions of dispersed and networked CNT and the surrounding interphase regions are considered. Since the modulus of interphase region around the dispersed CNT insignificantly changes the modulus of nanocomposites, this parameter is removed from the developed model. The developed model shows acceptable agreement with the experimental results of several samples. “ER” as nanocomposite modulus per the modulus of neat matrix changes from 1.4 to 7.7 at dissimilar levels of “f” (CNT fraction in the network) and network modulus. Moreover, the lowest relative modulus of 2.2 is observed at the smallest levels of interphase volume fraction ( ϕ i < 0.017), while the highest “ ϕ i ” as 0.07 obtains the highest relative modulus of 11.8. Also, the variation of CNT size (radius and length) significantly changes the relative modulus from 2 to 20.

Reinforcement of Stearic Acid Treated Egg Shell Particles in Epoxy Thermosets: Structural, Thermal, and Mechanical Characterization

This work reports the modification of egg shell (ES) particles by using stearic acid (SA) and their reinforcement in the epoxy matrix. The ES treatment via SA was optimized, the optimum conditions for concentration, temperature, and time were found to be 2.5%, 85 °C, and 50 min, respectively. The untreated ES (UES) and treated ES (TES) particles were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), particle size distribution, and contact angle. FTIR confirmed the chemical modification of SA on ES surface and DSC reflects an endothermic peak at 240 °C. XRD reveal a decrease in crystal size and crystallinity, while contact angle increases to 169° from 42°. The SEM observations clearly reflect a distinct decrease and separation of small domains of ES particles thus improving an increased surface area. Afterwards, the UES and TES particles were reinforced in epoxy at 15 and 20 weight (wt.) % loading. The tensile tests confirmed a 22% increase in elongation as compared to pure epoxy due to the hydrogen bonding between TES particles and matrix. The lowest brittleness was recorded for TES/epoxy composites on 20 wt % loading. The TGA confirmed the improved thermal stabilities at 20 wt % loading of TES particles in matrix, the improvements in T5%, T10%, and T20% values were recorded as 33, 26, and 21 °C higher than the corresponding values for neat matrix. The TES/epoxy composites on 20 wt % showed 41% increase in storage modulus as compared to the pristine epoxy, and cross-link density reaches to 2.71 × 10−3 from 1.29 × 10−3 mol/cm3 for neat matrix. The decline in tan δ height and improvement in Tg were also observed. The best adhesion effectiveness was recorded for TES/epoxy composites. This simple and economical modification technique can enhance the application of ES particles in various polymeric coating and composites applications.

Mechanical and rheological properties of polystyrene-block-polybutadiene-block-polystyrene copolymer reinforced with carbon nanotubes: effect of processing conditions

Styrene-b-butadiene-b-styrene (SBS)-based nanocomposites filled with unmodified and –COOH functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been formulated at different processing conditions in order to provide an understanding of the influence of the processing temperature and mixing speed on the nanofillers dispersion and on the overall properties of the nanocomposites. The evaluation of the nanocomposites’ mechanical and rheological behavior reveals that the effect of the processing speed on the final properties is almost negligible. Differently, the processing temperature influences strongly the mechanical and rheological properties of SBS-based nanocomposites. Indeed, for the nanocomposites formulated at high temperatures a significant enhancement of the overall properties with respect to the neat matrix has been achieved. Moreover, morphological analyses show that the state of dispersion of both unmodified and functionalized CNTs progressively improves as the processing temperature increases. Particularly, at low processing temperatures a segregated morphology in which the nanofillers are selectively confined in the domains of the SBS matrix has been obtained, while the nanocomposites formulated at 180°C show a homogeneous and uniform CNTs dispersion throughout the matrix and a strong level of interfacial adhesion between the copolymer chains and the dispersed nanofillers.

Plasma Treatment ofAgaveFiber Powder and Its Effect on the Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Composites Based on Polyethylene

Composites based on low-density polyethylene (LDPE) were prepared withAgavefiber powder (AFP) that was coated by plasma polymerization process using ethylene gas. Treated and pristine AFP were analyzed by infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and contact water angle for the assessment of surface properties. The polymer composites were prepared by melt mixing using 0, 5, 10, and 20 wt% of AFP and their mechanical and thermal properties were measured. Dispersion evaluation in water confirmed that the AFP treated changed from hydrophilic to hydrophobic behavior and it was also corroborated with water contact angle tests. The addition of treated and untreated AFP (200 mesh) at 20 wt% promotes an increase of Young’s modulus of the composites of up to 60% and 32%, respectively, in relation to the neat matrix. Also, an increase of crystallinity of LDPE was observed by the addition of treated and untreated AFP; however no significant effect on the crystallization temperature was observed in LDPE containing AFP.

Structural evolution of OBC/carbon nanotube bundle nanocomposites under uniaxial deformation

A regulated morphology of multi-walled CNT bundles in an olefin block copolymer matrix is achieved via solution blending after sonication. We observed an unexpected inverse evolution trend of long period in nanocomposites compared to that in neat matrix.

Preparation and Characterizations of Cassava Starch Nanocomposite Reinforced Kenaf

The aim of this research is to prepare biodegradable plastics which are made from the natural materials. In this study, solution casting technique is used to prepare the cassava starch nanocomposite reinforced kenaf. Prior to that, kenaf fibers undergo alkali and bleaching treatments in order to prepare the cellulose. Nanocellulose which used as reinforcing nanoparticle in the composites was then prepared by acid hydrolysis of obtained cellulose with 65% sulphuric acid. The preparation of cassava starch biocomposites was done using the mixture of sorbitol/glycerol (1:1) with various cellulose loading (0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10%). Finer size of cellulose is examined from the transmissions electron microscopy (TEM) analysis with diameter of 12±3.04 nm and length of 70-190 nm recorded. As for field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) analysis, good dispersion and strong interaction between starch and cellulose had been observed for the nanocomposite films. These contribute for enhancement in the mechanical performance which demonstrated improvement of all nanocomposite films compared to the neat matrix with 6 % cellulose composition showed the highest tensile stress value of 6.3 MPa.