Thermal, Electrical and Surface Hydrophobic Properties of Electrospun Polyacrylonitrile Nanofibers for Structural Health Monitoring

Ibrahim Alarifi,Abdulaziz Alharbi,Waseem Khan,Ramazan Asmatulu,Andrew Swindle

doi:10.3390/ma8105356

Ibrahim Alarifi, Abdulaziz Alharbi + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ma8105356

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Journal: Materials	Publication Date: Oct 14, 2015
Citations: 105	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Wichita State University, Majmaah University

Abstract

This paper presents an idea of using carbonized electrospun Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers as a sensor material in a structural health monitoring (SHM) system. The electrospun PAN fibers are lightweight, less costly and do not interfere with the functioning of infrastructure. This study deals with the fabrication of PAN-based nanofibers via electrospinning followed by stabilization and carbonization in order to remove all non-carbonaceous material and ensure pure carbon fibers as the resulting material. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used to determine the ionic conductivity of PAN fibers. The X-ray diffraction study showed that the repeated peaks near 42° on the activated nanofiber film were α and β phases, respectively, with crystalline forms. Contact angle, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were also employed to examine the surface, thermal and chemical properties of the carbonized electrospun PAN fibers. The test results indicated that the carbonized PAN nanofibers have superior physical properties, which may be useful for structural health monitoring (SHM) applications in different industries.

Highlights

IntroductionThe process of enacting an organized damage detection system for various types of infrastructure is generally referred to as structural health monitoring (SHM) [1]
The X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique was used for the structural characterization of carbon materials to provide useful information regarding lattice constants and diffraction planes [19]
Cu Kα (λ = 0.15418 nm) radiation was used over the 2θ range of 10 ̋–70 ̋ to observe the structural change during the carbonization

Summary

Introduction

The process of enacting an organized damage detection system for various types of infrastructure is generally referred to as structural health monitoring (SHM) [1]. SHM provides continuous monitoring of structures in real time, thereby increasing public safety, especially for aging structures still in use [2,3,4,5]. SHM ensures early detection of routine damage and reduces the costs and down-time associated with maintenance. SHM can predict the unusual behavior of various structures, providing advanced warning and allowing for the removal/repair of structural parts for the protection of the public [5]. The need for SHM is obviously important, with the primary objectives of such a system being to increase safety and reliability further and to reduce repair and inspection costs [5]

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