Rate-dependent compressive behavior of unidirectional carbon fiber composites

Unidirectional carbon fiber stitched composites were subjected to off-axis compression under static and low-velocity impact loading. Specimens were cut such that the fibers were at angles of 15°, 30°, 45° and 60° to the direction of loading. A modified compression fixture was used to carry out the tests. Static tests were carried out on a hydraulically activated MTS loading frame, where specimens were subjected to displacement controlled loading. Low-velocity impact tests were conducted on a drop tower facility. A three-strain-gauge rosette was used to measure global strains. Load was measured using a load cell. Owing to the unique microstructure of the specimens, a modified three-parameter characterization of the inelastic response was used, and the constants associated with this characterization were determined uniquely. Independently, Iosipescu shear tests were carried out to determine the shear response of the material under static and low-velocity impact conditions. The shear response so determined was checked against the off-axis test results. It is shown that rate-dependent interfacial effects are predominant in these materials. Polym. Compos. 25:397–406, 2004. © 2004 Society of Plastics Engineers.     

Oxidation behavior and protection of carbon/carbon composites

The oxidation behavior of C/C composite sheet materials in air has been studied over a wide range of temperature. Gasification was detectable at around 500°C and above about 900°C, under the flow conditions used in the experiments, the overall rates of gasification were controlled by gas phase diffusion. The presence of catalysts reduced the temperature for the onset of gasification but had no effect on the kinetics in the diffusion-controlled region. Borate-based coatings containing refractory particulates and silicon carbide coatings sealed with borates have been found capable of protecting C/C composites against air oxidation for extended periods to temperatures of at least 1200°C.     

Sharp indentation behavior of carbon/carbon composites and varieties of carbon

Sharp indentation tests on carbon fiber and carbon matrix composites (C/C composite) were carried out over a wide load range from 0 to 2 N on three different cross sections: normal, parallel and inclined to the fiber axis. For comparison purposes, a variety of carbons including HOPG, glassy C, and pyrocarbon films was also examined. Both the fibers and the matrices displayed first a purely elastic response and second crack-induced damage. A purely elastic behavior was also observed with most of the varieties of carbon considered. Young’s modulus was extracted from the indentation curves either at maximum or at various forces, using the Sneddon equation of elastic response on loading (elastic indentation) or a classical equation based on elastic recovery on unloading (elastoplastic indentation). Results are discussed with respect to features of structure and heterogeneity of material in the stressed volume.     

The mechanical and repair behavior of damaged carbon/carbon composites

With the aim of understanding the effect of defect types on the mechanical performance of carbon/carbon (C/C) composites, three kinds of defects such as circle arc, square, and triangle shapes were prefabricated on their surfaces. The results show that the prefabricated defects damage the flexural strength of C/C composites compared to the pristine sample (101 ± 6 MPa). The flexural strength of C/C decreased by 30.84%, 45.84%, and 42.58% corresponding to the circle arc, square, and triangle type defects respectively. The defect-repair method with Ni-based solder as the additive was employed to repair the damaged C/C composites. After repair, the stress concentration of C/C composites decreases, and there is a good connection between carbon fiber and the repaired solder so that the load can be transferred continuously, therefore the flexural strength of C/C composites can be improved by 20–28%.     

Microstructure and fracture behavior of polypropylene/barium sulfate composites

The microstructure, mechanical properties, and fracture behavior of polypropylene (PP)/barium sulfate (BaSO₄) composites were studied. Four composite samples with different PP‐BaSO₄ interface were prepared by treating the filler with different modifiers. The fracture behavior of the composites under different strain rates was studied by means of Charpy impact tests and essential work of fracture (EWF) tests. It is shown that a moderate interfacial adhesion is favorable for toughening, which ensures that the particles transfer the stress and stabilizes the cracks at the primary stage of the deformation, and satisfies the stress conditions of plastic deformation for matrix ligaments subsequently via debonding. Very strong interfacial adhesion is not favorable for toughness, especially under high strain rate, because the debonding‐cavitation process may be delayed and the plastic deformation of matrix may be restrained. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 99: 1207–1213, 2006     

Oxidation behavior of SiC/glaze-precursor coating on carbon/carbon composites

In order to improve the oxidation behavior of carbon/carbon composites in a wide range of temperature, a new SiC/glaze-precursor coating was developed.The SiC layer was produced by slurry and sintering, while the glaze precursor layer was prepared by slurry and drying. The microstructures and phase compositions of the coating were analyzed by SEM and XRD, respectively. The oxidation resistance of the coated composites was investigated using both isothermal and temperature-programmed thermogravimetric analysis in the temperature range from room temperature to 1600 °C. The results showed that the oxidation behavior of the coating was mainly controlled by the diffusion of oxygen during the test.The coating showed excellent oxidation resistance and self-healing ability in a wide range of temperature.     

Mechanical behavior of two-dimensional carbon/carbon composites with interfacial carbon layers

Effect of interfacial carbon layers on the mechanical properties and fracture behavior of two-dimensional carbon fiber fabrics reinforced carbon matrix composites were investigated. Phenolic resin reinforced with two-dimensional plain woven carbon fiber fabrics was used as starting materials for carbon/carbon composites and was prepared using vacuum bag hot pressing technique. In order to study the effect of interfacial bonding, a carbon layer was applied to the carbon fabrics in advance. The carbon layers were prepared using petroleum pitch with different concentrations as precursors. The experimental results indicate that the carbon/carbon composites with interfacial carbon layers possess higher fracture energy than that without carbon layers after carbonization at 1000°C. For a pitch concentration of 0.15 g/ml, the carbon/carbon composites have both higher flexural strength and fracture energy than composites without carbon layers. Both flexural strength and fracture energy increased for composites with and without carbon layers after graphitization. The amount of increase in fracture energy was more significant for composites with interfacial carbon layers. Results indicate that a suitable pitch concentration should be used in order to tailor the mechanical behavior of carbon/carbon composites with interfacial carbon layers.     

Quasi-static compressive strength of cement-based materials

Wet cementitious materials show a noticeable dependence on the rate of quasi-static loading. While dry cementitious materials are almost independent of loading rate in the quasi-static region, the mechanical strength of wet materials increases with increasing rate of loading. Therefore, the Abrams' formula for the static mechanical strength cannot provide reliable values with wet materials at higher rates and should be corrected. Some possibilities for its improvement have been discussed.     

Kinetics of dynamic percolation in polymer/carbon composites

Dynamic percolation differs from static percolation in polymer composites owing to its occurrence at a particular filler fraction under thermal activation. Mechanistic insights into dynamic percolation might lead to develop polymer composites with controlled electrical properties at lower filler fractions and improved temperature coefficient of resistance phase transitions. Although attempts have been made to kinetically describe the dynamic percolation in polymer composites, a generalized mechanism-based approach has not yet been reported. In this article, a systematic and generalized theoretical approach to kinetically model the dynamic percolation in polymer/carbon composites has been put forward. Based on the proposed approach, a kinetic expression to predict the quasi-thermodynamic equilibrium state in a polymer/carbon composite at constant temperature is derived. The soundness of the proposed approach is justified by its effective applications on poly(vinylidene fluoride)/multiwalled carbon nanotube (PVDF/MWNT), poly(vinylidene fluoride)/carboxyl-functionalized MWNT (PVDF/MWNT), high-density polyethylene/carbon black, and poly(methyl methacrylate)/carbon black composites. Certain mechanistic complexities of dynamic percolation are also pointed out and discussed. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 60: 423–433, 2019. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Rheological behavior of multiwalled carbon nanotube/polycarbonate composites

The rheological behavior of compression molded mixtures of polycarbonate containing between 0.5 and 15 wt% carbon nanotubes was investigated using oscillatory rheometry at 260 °C. The nanotubes have diameters between 10 and 15 nm and lengths ranging from 1 to 10 μm. The composites were obtained by diluting a masterbatch containing 15 wt% nanotubes using a twin-screw extruder. The increase in viscosity associated with the addition of nanotubes is much higher than viscosity changes reported for carbon nanofibers having larger diameters and for carbon black composites; this can be explained by the higher aspect ratio of the nanotubes. The viscosity increase is accompanied by an increase in the elastic melt properties, represented by the storage modulus G′, which is much higher than the increase in the loss modulus G″. The viscosity curves above 2 wt% nanotubes exhibit a larger decrease with frequency than samples containing lower nanotube loadings. Composites containing more than 2 wt% nanotubes exhibit non-Newtonian behavior at lower frequencies. A step increase at approximately 2 wt% nanotubes was observed in the viscosity-composition curves at low frequencies. This step change may be regarded as a rheological threshold. Ultimately, the rheological threshold coincides with the electrical conductivity percolation threshold which was found to be between 1 and 2 wt% nanotubes.     

Thermoelastic behavior of carbon fiber/polycarbonate model composites

Model composites of polycarbonate (PC) containing single, multiple and chopped carbon fibers (CF) with and without and epoxy sizing were prepared by hot pressing. The thermoelastic behavior of model CF/PC composites was characterized by stretching calorimetry at room temperature. For small strains ? (i.e., ? ≈ 0.01) the specific mechanical work, specific heat effects and specific internal energy changes ΔU were completely reversible in stretching/contraction cycles and quantitatively obeyed the standard relationships for elastic solids. Young's moduli E and ΔU were significantly higher, whereas the linear thermal expansivities α_L were lower for model CF/PC composites compared to those for the neat PC. Smaller values of the above parameters for composites reinforced with sized CF suggested weaker CF/PC interfacial interactions. Current theoretical models of thermoelastic properties of composite materials suggest the existence of unusually stiff, highly oriented PC structures in fairly thick boundary layers around CF. The onset of inelastic deformation, as well as mechanical failure in CF/PC model composites at significantly smaller strains compared to the neat PC were tentatively explained by the yield and subsequent plastic flow of the matrix polymer initiated by heat effects of fiber fragmentation processes, and by higher concentration of microvoids generated in fiber fragmentation/debonding events, respectively.     

Impact fracture behavior of PP/EPDM/glass bead ternary composites

The effects of glass bead filler content and surface treatment of the glass with a silane coupling agent on the room temperature impact fracture behavior of polypropylene (PP)/ethylene‐propylene‐diene monomer copolymer (EPDM)/glass bead(GB) ternary composites were determined. The volume fraction of EPDM was kept constant at 10%. The impact fracture energy and impact strength of the composites increased with increasing volume fraction of glass beads (?_g). Surface pretreatment of the glass beads had an insignificant effect on the impact behavior. For a fixed filler content, the best impact strength was achieved when untreated glass beads and a maleic anhydride modified EPDM were used. The impact strength exhibited a maximum value at ?_g=15%. Morphology/impact property relationships and an explanation of the toughening mechanisms were developed by comparing the impact properties with scanning electron micrographs of fracture surfaces.     

High-temperature fatigue behavior of SiC-coated carbon/carbon composites in oxidizing atmosphere

Tensile fatigue-stressed oxidation experiments were conducted at 1300 °C in oxidizing atmosphere to identify the failure modes and degradation mechanism of a SiC-coated carbon/carbon composite. Five peak fatigue stresses were selected between 90 and 150 MPa and the results showed that the higher the applied stress, the shorter the composite life. Electrical resistance of the composite was acquired in real-time. The composite resistance appeared a slight drop in the initial fatigue period and followed by a continuous increase until failure. Both the changes in modulus and resistance revealed the shrinking core mechanism in the fatigue-stressed oxidation experiments. A model was developed based on a half-cylinder oxidation pattern. Simulations were conducted on the basis of this model, and the results agreed with the experimental data fairly well.     

Effect of aging on the compressive yielding of PAN-based carbon fiber/polycarbonate composites

The compressive yield behavior and the effect of aging in boiling water on the mechanical properties of polycarbonate composites reinforced with PAN-based carbon fibers were studied at different filler contents and over a range of strain rates. The Young's modulus, yield stress, and yield strain are reported as a function of aging time. Other mechanical parameters such as the activation energy and volume of the yielding process were determined through the Eyring theory. The increase of both Young's modulus and yield stress with aging in boiling water is explained by structural changes. The mechanical properties of the composite were correlated with the morphology and its glass transition temperature.     

Nanotube fracture during the failure of carbon nanotube/alumina composites

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) underwent failure during crack opening in a MWCNT/alumina composite. Transmission electron microscope observations and single nanotube pullout tests revealed that the MWCNTs, rather than pulling out from the alumina matrix, broke in the outer shells and then the inner core was pulled away, leaving fragments of the outer shells in the matrix (i.e., they underwent failure in a “sword-in-sheath” fracture mode, as observed for MWCNTs under tensile loading). Some MWCNTs failed leaving either a very short sword-in-sheath failure or a clean break. Theoretical predictions based on the MWCNT failure and pullout models suggested that the use of MWCNTs having a much higher load carrying capacity may lead to composites with a higher fracture toughness. These results may provide new insight into the fracture mechanisms and suggest a new design methodology for MWCNT-based ceramic composites, leading to improved fracture toughness.     

氟橡胶/碳纳米管复合材料的拉伸应力-应变行为

以氟橡胶/炭黑复合材料作对比研究了氟橡胶/碳纳米管复合材料的拉伸应力-应变、拉伸应力弛豫和拉伸应力软化行为。结果表明,碳纳米管对氟橡胶有良好的增强效果,相同用量碳纳米管的增强效果要高于炭黑,低应变时碳纳米管的增强效果更明显;与氟橡胶/炭黑复合材料相比,氟橡胶/碳纳米管复合材料的应力弛豫现象更为明显,应力弛豫速率更快;随着碳纳米管和炭黑用量的增加,复合材料的应力软化效应增大,氟橡胶/碳纳米管复合材料的应力软化效应明显高于氟橡胶/炭黑复合材料。     

Crystallization behavior of polyamide 11/multiwalled carbon nanotube composites

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to investigate the isothermal and nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of polyamide11 (PA11)/multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNTs) composites. The Avrami equation was used for describing the isothermal crystallization behavior of neat PA11 and its nanocomposites. For nonisothermal studies, the Avrami model, the Ozawa model, and the method combining the Avrami and Ozawa theories were employed. It was found that the Avrami exponent n decreased with the addition of MWNTs during the isothermal crystallization, indicating that the MWNTs accelerated the crystallization process as nucleating agent. The kinetic analysis of nonisothermal crystallization process showed that the presence of carbon nanotubes hindered the mobility of polymer chain segments and dominated the nonisothermal crystallization process. The MWNTs played two competing roles on the crystallization of PA11 nanocomposites: on the one hand, the MWNTs serve as heterogeneous nucleating agent promoting the crystallization process of PA11; on the other hand, the MWNTs hinder the mobility of the polymer chains thus retarding the crystal growth process of PA11. The activation energies of PA11/MWNTs composites for the isothermal and nonisothermal crystallization are lower than neat PA11. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011.     

Network behavior of thermosetting polyimide/multiwalled carbon nanotube composites

In previous published research, network formation has been used to understand morphology and properties in polymer nanocomposites containing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) through measurements of rheological and electrical percolation thresholds, largely in thermoplastic matrices. In this research, these tools are explored as a means to understand network transport mechanisms and changes in CNT dispersion during curing in a thermosetting matrix. Specifically, rheological and electrical measurements were performed on the uncured nanocomposites, and electrical measurements were performed on the cured nanocomposites. The resulting data were applied to a percolation model. The results showed that the uncured resin played a limited role in mediating rheological transport and that little CNT aggregation occurred during curing. The results of this initial work suggest that such a combination of techniques is applicable to understanding dispersion changes resulting from curing and provides complementary insight to that provided by electron microscopy imaging of the same phenomenon.     

Compressive properties and fracture behavior of ceramic fiber-reinforced carbon aerogel under quasi-static and dynamic loading

The quasi-static and dynamic compressive properties of a ceramic fiber-reinforced carbon (CFRC) aerogel were investigated using a universal test machine and a split Hopkinson pressure bar. The fracture surface of the CFRC aerogel was studied by scanning electron microscopy. Results show that the compressive behavior of CFRC aerogel exhibits a significant strain rate strengthening effect. The quasi-static failure strain is higher than the dynamic failure strain. Under quasi-static compressive loading, the carbon aerogel matrix breaks into small pieces at a strain of 0.75 and fibers separate from the matrix. The deformation of the fibers is not obvious, indicating that fibers suffer little stress. Under dynamic compressive loading, the aerogel matrix shatters into fragments at a strain of 0.62 and shows a “bursting” phenomenon. The high speed compression of gas in the aerogel results in an increase of the internal stress. Fibers bend, break and separate from the matrix, indicating that fibers carry partially the applied loading. The carbon nanoparticles are squeezed closer with nearly no voids remaining after both quasi-static and dynamic compression. The increase of the internal stress and the fracture of fibers lead to strain rate strengthening and earlier fracture of the CFRC aerogel at high strain rates.