Nanostructured sensors, development and testing involving Skoltech researchers, have shown promise (Nanostructure strengthens, deforms and inspects airplane wings, wind turbines and bridges) for improving building components made of fiberglass reinforced polymer: airplane wings, wind turbines, bridges, car bodies, vehicles water, etc.
Incorporated into the structure without the need to stress it in an autoclave. Composed of carbon nanotubes, it produces heat under the influence of electricity; when applied, it leaves the thickness of the composition unchanged, other characteristics intact and does not create unwanted pores. It can be used as a sensor for structural health monitoring or as a heater for anti-icing or anti-icing. The latter is particularly important for the construction of boats and small aircraft, where fiberglass construction is abundant, especially in relation to Arctic land development programs. The study was published in Polymers.
“The results of our research are significant for many reasons,” said one of the researchers of the study, research leader Sergey Abaimov of Skoltech. “In the same way, the composition performs other functions: by applying electricity to the layer of carbon nanotubes and monitoring the signal, it is possible to follow the damage of the system and to avoid disasters from -expect interruptions. Electricity can be used for heating, for example to clean airplane wings or wind turbines. Second, this can be done by heating the first, self-healing polymer composite without using an autoclave, which is expensive and energy-intensive.
“Furthermore, and this is the subject of the article on Polymers, we are also talking about the problem that is striking in connecting microstructures in general: the negative effect of integration on the properties of composites,” said L.-leader of the study, Stepan. Lomov of Skoltech. added. “One would expect that as soon as we put carbon nanotubes – or anything, really – in a complex material, we will have to deal with large thicknesses and other defects in the form of pores or fiber transitions. bent. And surprisingly, we end up. Unchanged thickness, no added porosity, and improved material properties, not damaged.
Glass fiber reinforced polymer composites are used in aircraft, ships, bridges, automobiles, sports equipment and other areas. They are made by joining together several glass bulbs embedded in epoxy resin. To create a high complexity, the whole body – which can be heavy, for example, in air engineering – is treated in a high temperature room, called an autoclave. Only large companies can afford a large autoclave to produce large parts with this technology, electricity costs and environmental impact are also a concern, as a lot of energy is consumed to heat the whole volume of the house every time, despite the fact size and shape of the treated mixture part.
“However, if you put carbon nanotubes between the edges of the composite, you can efficiently apply electricity that generates heat in the material without wasting it. power to heat the entire volume of the autoclave. It can retain about 99% of energy,” Abaimov said.
To compare the properties of the materials, the team produced a polymer composite with and without the carbon nanotube structure added to it. Measurements did not show any increase in thickness, formation of negative pores, or lack of fibers. The researchers explained this in terms of the high nanocapillarity of the nanotubes, a property that makes them “suck” the pores of the epoxy resin, which will make it negatively affect the characteristics of the mixture, creates a pressure that causes the fiber to become negative, stuck together of glass, stand firm together.
The study reported in this article is from the research department of the authors themselves called “multifunctional fusion for the improvement of the life cycle of things via the nano-engineering of advanced composite structures”. In other words, the proposed nanostructure improves the properties of the material and gives it many functions – in this case, structural health care and de-icing – while working with – Actively work at different stages of the product life cycle., by its production, when the layer of carbon nanotubes allows the non-autoclave treatment of the composition.
Together with Skoltech doctoral student Alexei Shiverskii, Sergey Abaimov created a special reactor for the design of nanocomposite structures at the Institute. Abaimov explained, “The document we released this time is only the first step on the way to implement the various plans that we say exist.” “Then we need to work and get results for all the characteristics in question, which should be interesting outside the laboratory, in the relevant companies.”
