Abstract
The main objective of this research is to review and investigate the influence of carbon nanotube structure on the properties of carbon nanotube and carbon nanotube-reinforced epoxy. Carbon nanotube and carbon nanotube-reinforced epoxy are currently being frequently used in many applications such as aerospace, automotive, and electronics industries due to their excellent properties such as high tensile strength, high Young’s modulus, and electrical and thermal conductivity. In this study, the obstacles to apply carbon nanotubes as fibers within the matrix have been introduced and discussed. Additionally, the epoxy properties and application have been cited, and failure mechanisms of carbon nanotube-reinforced epoxy and geometries of carbon nanotubes have been reviewed. Furthermore, with using experimental data and applying an analytical method, the effect of carbon nanotube diameter on interlaminar shear stress within the carbon nanotube-reinforced epoxy interface has been evaluated. Additionally, the effect of temperature variation on the value of interlaminar shear stress within the single-walled carbon nanotube-reinforced epoxy interface has been discussed. Finally, the influence of the number of hexagons in the unit cell on the Young’s modulus of zigzag and armchair single-walled carbon nanotubes has been evaluated.
Highlights
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been introduced by Lijima in 1991 for the first time [1]
In the presented section of the manuscript, thermal analysis is performed to investigate the effect of the multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) diameter on interlaminar shear stress (ILSs) of MWCNTE
This temperature that is representing the highest mismatch of coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) between MWCNT and epoxy could be named as “critical temperature,” because in this temperature, the probability of crack initiation and/or propagation could be the highest value
Summary
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been introduced by Lijima in 1991 for the first time [1]. Due to the excellent properties of CNT, nowadays, its application is broad in many industries such as aerospace and automotive industries. Carbon nanotubes have great mechanical properties such as high tensile strength, high Young’s modulus, and a high aspect ratio which makes CNT one of the best materials for different applications. The different geometries of CNT can have effects on its reactivity, failure mechanism, surface interaction, and mechanical properties. It seems that with different production methods, different CNTs with different properties can be expected [2]
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