Carbon nanofibers as a means to enhance composites fracture toughness Conference Paper uri icon

abstract

  • The development and characterization of nanocomposites, reinforced with carbon nanofibers (CNFs), as a cost-efficient method to enhance mechanical properties of nanocomposites, were examined in this research. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers were electrospun using a rotating drum technique and then subjected to thermal stabilization and carbonization to convert them to carbon nanofibers. Nanocomposites were then fabricated by high shear mixing and ultrasonication of the CNFs with epoxy. Composites of varying CNF concentration were fabricated with randomly distributed CNFs in epoxy and were tested for mechanical properties, specifically fracture toughness, using a compact-tension test.

published proceedings

  • 27th Annual Technical Conference of the American Society for Composites 2012, Held Jointly with 15th Joint US-Japan Conference on Composite Materials and ASTM-D30 Meeting

author list (cited authors)

  • Chawla, S., Gardea, F., Lagoudas, D., & Naraghi, M.

complete list of authors

  • Chawla, S||Gardea, F||Lagoudas, D||Naraghi, M

publication date

  • December 2012