Dr. Enrique Jackson from NASA-Marshall Space Center will present a seminar entitled, “Development of Thermal Properties of Carbon-Nanotube Polymer Composition.”

Abstract

The overall goal of this effort is to develop enhanced thermal properties in carbon nanotube-polymer composites that can replace traditional aerospace metallic materials to reduce the weight in space structures. In this work, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were dispersed onto a prepreg composite structure used to provide favorable thermal storage properties. The carbon nanotubes increased the thermal transport properties of the resulting composite. The employed structures consisted of individual plies of an IM7 prepreg composite with an embedded 8552 epoxy that were each coated with a SWCNT layer. The plies were combined into multilayered composite structure using a vacuum-based hand layup technique that cured the 8552 epoxy. The prepared composites were investigated by Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, thermal diffusivity, and differential scanning calorimetry. The developed methods provide the opportunity for enhancing the thermal properties of a composite through the use of CNTs as additives, here as thin, separated, parallel layers within a stacked composite structure. Such improvements in thermal properties in a lightweight material would be particularly useful in aerospace applications, particularly for solar arrays, fairings, and thermal radiators.

A networking reception for students will follow the seminar.

Host: CGSO