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MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF CARBON NANOTUBE / METAL COMPOSITES

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Date Issued:
2010
Abstract/Description:
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have captured a great deal of attention worldwide since their discovery in 1991. CNTs are considered to be the stiffest and strongest material due to their perfect atomic arrangement and intrinsic strong in-plane sp2ÂÂ--sp2 covalent bonds between carbon atoms. In addition to mechanical properties, CNTs have also shown exceptional chemical, electrical and thermal properties. All these aspects make CNTs promising candidates in the development of novel multi-functional nanocomposites. Utilizing CNTs as fillers to develop advanced nanocomposites still remains a challenge, due to the lack of fundamental understanding of both material processing at the nanometer scale and the resultant material properties. In this work, a new model was developed to investigate the amount of control specific parameters have on the mechanical properties of CNT composites. The new theory can be used to guide the development of advanced composites using carbon nanotubes, as well as other nano-fibers, with any matrices (ceramic, metal, or polymer). Our study has shown that the varying effect based on changes in CNT dimensions and concentration fit the model predictions very well. Metallic CNT composites using both single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNT), have been developed through a novel electrochemical co-deposition process. Copper and nickel matrix composites were developed by using pulse-reverse electrochemical co-deposition. Uniaxial tensile test results showed that a more than 300% increase in strength compared to that of the pure metal had been achieved. For example, the ultimate tensile strength of Ni/CNTs composites reached as high as about 2GPa. These are best experimental results ever reported within this field. The mechanical results are mainly attributed to the good interfacial bonding between the CNTs and the metal matrices and good dispersion of carbon nanotubes within the matrices. Experimental results have also shown that the strength is inversely dependent on the diameter of carbon nanotubes. In addition to the mechanical strength, carbon nanotube reinforced metallic composites are excellent multifunctional materials in terms of electrical and thermal conduction. The electrical resistivity of carbon nanotube/copper composites produces electrical resistivity of about 1.0~1.2 x10-6ohm-cm, which is about 40% less than the pure copper. The reduced electrical resistivity is also attributed to the good interfacial bonding between carbon nanotubes and metal matrices, realized by the electrochemical co-deposition.
Title: MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF CARBON NANOTUBE / METAL COMPOSITES.
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Name(s): Sun, Ying, Author
Chen, Quanfang, Committee Chair
University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2010
Publisher: University of Central Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have captured a great deal of attention worldwide since their discovery in 1991. CNTs are considered to be the stiffest and strongest material due to their perfect atomic arrangement and intrinsic strong in-plane sp2ÂÂ--sp2 covalent bonds between carbon atoms. In addition to mechanical properties, CNTs have also shown exceptional chemical, electrical and thermal properties. All these aspects make CNTs promising candidates in the development of novel multi-functional nanocomposites. Utilizing CNTs as fillers to develop advanced nanocomposites still remains a challenge, due to the lack of fundamental understanding of both material processing at the nanometer scale and the resultant material properties. In this work, a new model was developed to investigate the amount of control specific parameters have on the mechanical properties of CNT composites. The new theory can be used to guide the development of advanced composites using carbon nanotubes, as well as other nano-fibers, with any matrices (ceramic, metal, or polymer). Our study has shown that the varying effect based on changes in CNT dimensions and concentration fit the model predictions very well. Metallic CNT composites using both single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNT), have been developed through a novel electrochemical co-deposition process. Copper and nickel matrix composites were developed by using pulse-reverse electrochemical co-deposition. Uniaxial tensile test results showed that a more than 300% increase in strength compared to that of the pure metal had been achieved. For example, the ultimate tensile strength of Ni/CNTs composites reached as high as about 2GPa. These are best experimental results ever reported within this field. The mechanical results are mainly attributed to the good interfacial bonding between the CNTs and the metal matrices and good dispersion of carbon nanotubes within the matrices. Experimental results have also shown that the strength is inversely dependent on the diameter of carbon nanotubes. In addition to the mechanical strength, carbon nanotube reinforced metallic composites are excellent multifunctional materials in terms of electrical and thermal conduction. The electrical resistivity of carbon nanotube/copper composites produces electrical resistivity of about 1.0~1.2 x10-6ohm-cm, which is about 40% less than the pure copper. The reduced electrical resistivity is also attributed to the good interfacial bonding between carbon nanotubes and metal matrices, realized by the electrochemical co-deposition.
Identifier: CFE0003144 (IID), ucf:48652 (fedora)
Note(s): 2010-05-01
Ph.D.
Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Mechanical Materials and Aerospace Engineering
Doctorate
This record was generated from author submitted information.
Subject(s): carbon nanotube
nanocomposites
copper
nickel
strength
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003144
Restrictions on Access: campus 2011-10-27
Host Institution: UCF

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