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At least 145 records · Page 8

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NASA NTRS1990

Application of carbon-powder-polymer composite as a continuous crack-length sensor

This paper explores the application of carbon-powder-impregnated polymeric composites for measuring crack extensions. The strain sensitivity of the gage material is shown to be very small. In the first series of tests, the gage material is characterized by measuring the change in electrical resistance due to machined slits for various gage lengths. The measured responses is compared with the response predicted from a very simple electrical model. On the basis of good correlation and repeatability, the usefulness of such gages to measure crack extensions is assessed by a second series of tests. Further work to improve the gage response by optimizing the shape of the gage and making the gage and the adhesive layer thinner is proposed. The presented concept, with improvements, can result in a reliable, inexpensive crack gage requiring inexpensive instrumentation.

Prabhakaran, R.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Continuous crack length measurement with a carbon powder-polymer composite

The potential application of carbon-powder impregnated polymeric gages to the measurement of crack extensions is investigated by determining whether crack lengths in Al can be inferred from resistance changes sensed by the gages. It is found that the gages can be effectively used for measuring crack extensions with a maximum error of around 12 percent. Thinner gages provide more accurate results, and the sensitivity of the device can be improved by optimizing the shape.

Prabhakaran, R.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Infrared thermographic analysis of polymer composites during ballistic impact

An infrared thermographic system was used to measure the surface temperature profile of composite materials under ballistic impact. The heat deposited was calculated based on the temperature profiles. The extent of damage induced in the materials was determined qualitatively from the measured data. The relative contribution of frictional heat to total energy absorption was evaluated, and the effect of the shape of the projectile on the extent of damage and temperature distribution in the composites was examined. The results show that graphite and polyethylene composite are more effective than Kevlar composite in dissipating heat during the ballistic impact penetration process due to their higher thermal conductivity.

Hsieh, C. Y.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Permeability of rayon based polymer composites

Several types of anomalous rayon based phenolic behavior have been observed in post-fired nozzles and exit cones. Many of these events have been shown to be related to the development of internal gas pressure within the material. The development of internal gas pressure is a function of the amount of gas produced within the material and the rate at which that gas is allowed to escape. The latter property of the material is referred to as the material's permeability. The permeability of two dimensional carbonized rayon based phenolic composites is a function of material direction, temperature, and stress/strain state. Recently significant differences in the permeability of these materials has been uncovered which may explain their inconsistent performance. This paper summarizes what is known about the permeability of these materials to date and gives possible implications of these finding to the performance of these materials in an ablative environment.

Stokes, E. H.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Automated Fabrication Technologies for High Performance Polymer Composites

New fabrication technologies are being exploited for building high graphite-fiber-reinforced composite structure. Stitched fiber preforms and resin film infusion have been successfully demonstrated for large, composite wing structures. Other automatic processes being developed include automated placement of tacky, drapable epoxy towpreg, automated heated head placement of consolidated ribbon/tape, and vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding. These methods have the potential to yield low cost high performance structures by fabricating composite structures to net shape out-of-autoclave.

Shuart , M. J.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Aging Effects in Polymer Composites

Simulation of composites degradation due to aging are described. Laminate geometry, material properties, and matrix degradation states are specified as functions of position and time. Matrix shrinkage and property changes are modeled as functions of the degradation states. Aging effects at the laminate, ply, and micro levels are evaluated, to determine failure of any kind. The results obtained show substantial ply stress built up as a result of aging accompanied by comparable laminate strength degradation in matrix dominated composite strengths.

Chamis, Chistos C.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Mechanics of Nanotubes and Nanotube-Polymer Composites

CNT is a tubular form of carbon with diameter as small as 1 nm. Length: few nm to microns. CNT is configurationally equivalent to a two dimensional graphene sheet rolled into a tube. CNT exhibits extraordinary mechanical properties: Young's modulus over 1 Tera Pascal, as stiff as diamond, and tensile strength approx. 200 GPa. CNT can be metallic or semiconducting, depending on chirality.

Srivastava, Deepak↗

NASA NTRS2002

The Electrical and Thermal Conductivity of Woven Pristine and Intercalated Graphite Fiber-Polymer Composites

A series of woven fabric laminar composite plates and narrow strips were fabricated from a variety of pitch-based pristine and bromine intercalated graphite fibers in an attempt to determine the influence of the weave on the electrical and thermal conduction. It was found generally that these materials can be treated as if they are homogeneous plates. The rule of mixtures describes the resistivity of the composite fairly well if it is realized that only the component of the fibers normal to the equipotential surface will conduct current. When the composite is narrow with respect to the fiber weave, however, there is a marked angular dependence of the resistance which was well modeled by assuming that the current follows only along the fibers (and not across them in a transverse direction), and that the contact resistance among the fibers in the composite is negligible. The thermal conductivity of composites made from less conductive fibers more closely followed the rule of mixtures than that of the high conductivity fibers, though this is thought to be an artifact of the measurement technique. Electrical and thermal anisotropy could be induced in a particular region of the structure by weaving together high and low conductivity fibers in different directions, though this must be done throughout all of the layers of the structure as interlaminar conduction precludes having only the top layer carry the anisotropy. The anisotropy in the thermal conductivity is considerably less than either that predicted by the rule of mixtures or the electrical resistivity.

Gaier, James R.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Characterizations of Enriched Metallic Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Polymer Composite

Using different processing conditions, we disperse the single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) into the polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) to form composites. In the melt-blended sample, the SWNTs originally semiconducting - became predominantly metallic after dispersion into the melt-blended composite. The interaction of the PMMA and SWNT is investigated by the polarized Raman studies. The structure changes in the PMMA and SWNT shows that the anisotropic interactions are responsible for SWNT electronic density of states (DOS) changes. The increased metallic SWNT percentage is confirmed by the conductivity and dielectric constant measurements .

Chen, Bin↗

NASA NTRS2004

The Influence of Sizings on the Durability of High-Temperature Polymer Composites

To increase performance and durability of high-temperature composites for potential rocket engine components, it is necessary to optimize wetting and interfacial bonding between high modulus carbon fibers and high-temperature polyimide resins. Sizings commercially supplied on most carbon fibers are not compatible with polyimides. In this study, the chemistry of sizings on two high-modulus carbon fibers (M40J and M60J, Toray) was characterized as was the chemistry of PMR-II-50 fluorinated polyimide resin. The carbon fibers were characterized using single filament wetting, scanning electron microscopy, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopic measurements. The polyimide matrix resins were coated onto glass filaments for characterization by wetting measurements. Surface energy components were obtained by wetting with nondispersive (methylene iodide), acidic (ethylene glycol), and basic (formamide) probes. A continuous desizing system that uses an environmentally friendly chemical-mechanical process was developed for tow level fiber. Composites were fabricated with fibers containing the manufacturer's sizing, desized, and further treated with a reactive finish. Results of room-temperature tests after thermal aging show that the reactive finish produces a higher strength and more durable interface compared to the manufacturer's sizing. When exposed to moisture blistering tests, however, the better bonded composite displayed a tendency to delaminate, presumably due to trapping of volatiles.

Allred, Ronald E.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Effect of Sizings on the Durability of High Temperature Polymer Composites

To increase performance and durability of high-temperature composite for potential rocket engine components, it is necessary to optimize wetting and interfacial bonding between high modulus carbon fibers and high-temperature polyimide resins. Sizing commercially supplied on most carbon fiber are not compatible with polyimides. In this study, the chemistry of sizing on two high modulus carbon fiber (M40J and M60J, Tiray) was characterized. A continuous desizling system that uses an environmentally friendly chemical-mechanical process was developed for tow level fiber. Composites were fabricated with fibers containing the manufacturer's sizing, desized, and further treated with a reactive finish. Results of room-temperature tests after thermal aging show that the reactive finish produces a higher strength and more durable interface compared to the manufacturer's sizing. When exposed to moisture blistering tests, however, the butter bonded composite displayed a tendency to delaminate, presumably due to trapping of volatiles.

Allred, Ronald E.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Effect of Architecture on the Resistivity of Carbon Fiber Polymer Composites

The electrical resistivity of carbon fiber laminar composites can be tailored by weave direction, fiber composition, resin composition, applied pressure, and fiber fraction. Although the weave direction was only found to be important in the case of high aspect ratio composites, the other factors were found to influence the resistivity generally. Most intriguing, the resistivity of composites with lamina of different fiber compositions follows a parallel resistor model. This opens the door for higher performance, lower cost composites to be fabricated from these mixed fiber composites.

Gaier, James R.↗

NASA NTRS2006

Micromechanics Modeling of Functionally Graded Interphase Regions in Carbon Nanotube-Polymer Composites

The effective elastic properties of a unidirectional carbon fiber/epoxy lamina in which the carbon fibers are coated with single-walled carbon nanotubes are modeled herein through the use of a multi-scale method involving the molecular dynamics/equivalent continuum and micromechanics methods. The specific lamina representative volume element studied consists of a carbon fiber surrounded by a region of epoxy containing a radially varying concentration of carbon nanotubes which is then embedded in the pure epoxy matrix. The variable concentration of carbon nanotubes surrounding the carbon fiber results in a functionally graded interphase region as the properties of the interphase region vary according to the carbon nanotube volume fraction. Molecular dynamics and equivalent continuum methods are used to assess the local effective properties of the carbon nanotube/epoxy comprising the interphase region. Micromechanics in the form of the Mori-Tanaka method are then applied to obtain the global effective properties of the graded interphase region wherein the carbon nanotubes are randomly oriented. Finally, the multi-layer composite cylinders micromechanics approach is used to obtain the effective lamina properties from the lamina representative volume element. It was found that even very small quantities of carbon nanotubes (0.36% of lamina by volume) coating the surface of the carbon fibers in the lamina can have a significant effect (8% increase) on the transverse properties of the lamina (E22, k23, G23 and G12) with almost no affect on the lamina properties in the fiber direction (E11 and v12).

Seidel, Gary D.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Functionalized carbon nanotube-polymer composites and interactions with radiation

The present invention involves the interaction of radiation with functionalized carbon nanotubes that have been incorporated into various host materials, particularly polymeric ones. The present invention is directed to chemistries, methods, and apparatuses which exploit this type of radiation interaction, and to the materials which result from such interactions. The present invention is also directed toward the time dependent behavior of functionalized carbon nanotubes in such composite systems.

Barrera, Enrique V.↗

NASA NTRS2013

Engineered Polymer Composites Through Electrospun Nanofiber Coating of Fiber Tows

Toughening and other property enhancements of composite materials are typically implemented by-modifying the bulk properties of the constituents, either the fiber or matrix materials. This often leads to difficulties in processing and higher material costs. Many composites consist of tows or yarns (thousands of individual fibers) that are either filament wound or processed into a fabric by weaving or braiding. The matrix material can be added to the tow or fabric before final processing, resulting in a prepreg material, or infused into the fiber material during final processing by a variety of methods. By using a direct electrospun deposition method to apply thermoplastic nanofiber to the surface of the tows, the tow-tow interface in the resulting composite can be modified while using otherwise conventional materials and handling processes. Other materials of interest could also be incorporated into the electrospun precursor.

toughening↗

NASA NTRS2014

Engineered Polymer Composites Through Electrospun Nanofiber Coating of Fiber Tows

Composite materials offer significant weight savings in many aerospace applications. The toughness of the interface of fibers crossing at different angles often determines failure of composite components. A method for toughening the interface in fabric and filament wound components using directly electrospun thermoplastic nanofiber on carbon fiber tow is presented. The method was first demonstrated with limited trials, and then was scaled up to a continuous lab scale process. Filament wound tubes were fabricated and tested using unmodified baseline towpreg material and nanofiber coated towpreg.

toughening↗

NASA NTRS2014

Functionalized Carbon Nanotube-Polymer Composites and Interactions with Radiation

Barrera, Enrique V.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

In-situ Lunar Launch and Landing Pad Construction with Regolith-Thermoset Polymer Composite Materials

Lunar launch and landing pads are necessary to mitigate risks to lander/ascent vehicles and surrounding surface assets from rocket plume ejected regolith. The current state of the art of landing and launching from the lunar surface is to land/launch on unprepared regolith surfaces. Significant risks exist for the larger landers proposed for the Artemis Program due to higher thrust levels leading to increased ejecta and cratering, presence of co-located assets in the ejecta path, and potential strict surface levelness requirements for tall vehicles.

Launch Pad↗