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Fabrication of free-standing octagon-shaped carbon nanofibre assembly for electrical actuation of shape memory polymer nanocomposites

Haibao Lu (National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology for Advanced Composites in Special Environments, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China)
Yongtao Yao (National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology for Advanced Composites in Special Environments, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China)
Shipeng Zhu (Science and Technology on Advanced Functional Composites Laboratory, Aerospace Research Institute of Materials & Processing Technology, Beijing , PR China)
Yunhua Yang (Science and Technology on Advanced Functional Composites Laboratory, Aerospace Research Institute of Materials & Processing Technology, Beijing, PR China)
Long Lin (Department of Colour and Polymer Chemistry, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK)

Pigment & Resin Technology

ISSN: 0369-9420

Article publication date: 5 May 2015

691

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is a study aimed at overcoming the interface issue between nanopaper and polymer matrix in shape-memory polymer (SMP) composite laminates caused by their large dissimilarity in electrical/thermal conductive properties. The study attempted to develop an effective approach to fabricate free-standing carbon nanofibre (CNF) assembly in octagon shape formation. The structure design and thermal conductive performance of the resulting octagon-shaped CNF assembly were optimised and simulated.

Design/methodology/approach

The CNF nanopaper was prepared based on a filtration method. The SMP nanocomposites were fabricated by incorporating these CNF assemblies with epoxy-based SMP resin by a resin-transfer modelling technique. Thermal conductivity of the octagon-shaped CNF assembly was simulated using the ANSYS FLUENT software for structure design and optimisation. The effect of the octagon-shaped CNF on the thermomechanical properties and thermally responsive shape-memory effect of the resulting SMP nanocomposites were characterised and interpreted.

Findings

The CNF template incorporated with SMP to achieve Joule heating triggered shape recovery at a low electric voltage of 3-10 V, due to which the electrical resistivity of SMP nanocomposites was significantly improved and lowered to 0.20 O·cm by the CNF template. It was found that the octagon CNF template with 2 mm width of skeleton presented a highest thermally conductive performance to transfer resistive heat to the SMP matrix.

Research limitations/implications

A simple way for fabricating electro-activated SMP nanocomposites has been developed by using an octagon CNF template. Low electrical voltage actuation in SMP has been achieved.

Originality/value

The fabricated CNF template, the structure design and analysis of dynamic thermomechanical properties of SMP are novel.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The research reported in this paper was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Grant No. 51103032) and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. HIT.BRETIV.201304).

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Citation

Lu, H., Yao, Y., Zhu, S., Yang, Y. and Lin, L. (2015), "Fabrication of free-standing octagon-shaped carbon nanofibre assembly for electrical actuation of shape memory polymer nanocomposites", Pigment & Resin Technology, Vol. 44 No. 3, pp. 157-164. https://doi.org/10.1108/PRT-10-2014-0092

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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