Desarrollo de materiales compuestos jerárquicos basados en fibra de carbono continua y nanopartículas de grafeno

Abstract

Los materiales compuestos poliméricos reforzados con fibra continua (FRP) se utilizan extensamente como elementos estructurales en una gran variedad de sectores, como el civil, transporte, energía, o marina, entre otros, gracias a sus excelentes propiedades mecánicas y bajo peso. Sin embargo, la relativa debilidad a la compresión y propiedades interlaminares de estos compuestos limita su campo de aplicación. Por ello, ha surgido un creciente interés en el desarrollo de materiales compuestos jerárquicos o multiescalares, en los que un refuerzo con dimensiones nanométricas se introduce en los FRP convencionales. Hasta el momento, la mayoría de los trabajos se han centrado en el uso de los nanotubos de carbono (CNTs) debido a sus extraordinarias propiedades intrínsecas. Además de sus excelentes propiedades mecánicas, los CNTs poseen excelentes propiedades eléctricas y térmicas, lo que les convierte en un material atractivo como refuerzo de matrices poliméricas. Durante la última década, se ha demostrado el fuerte efecto reforzante de los CNTs sobre diferentes matrices poliméricas...

Conventional continuous fibre reinforced polymer composites (FRP) have extensively been used as structural elements in a myriad of sectors, such as civil, transport, energy and marine, among others, due to their superior mechanical properties and low weight. However, the relatively weak compression and interlaminar properties of these composites limits their application field. Interest is, therefore, growing in the development of hierarchical or multiscale composites, in which a nanoscale filler reinforcement is utilized in conventional FRP. The majority of the work has focused on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) due to their extraordinary intrinsic properties. In addition to their outstanding mechanical properties, CNTs possess excellent electrical and thermal properties, making them attractive materials as reinforcements for polymer matrices. The main motivation for adding CNTs to conventional FRPs is to alleviate the existing limitations associated with the matrix dominated properties. CNTs provide both intralaminar and interlaminar reinforcement, thus improving delamination resistance and trough thickness properties, without compromising in-plane performance. CNTs should be superior to other methods, such as Z-pinning, stitching, braiding, which tend to reduce the inplane laminate performance by damaging the primary fibers. Grafting CNTs onto fibre surfaces is an effective method to improve fibre surface area, creating mechanical interlocking and local stiffening at the fibre/matrix interface, leading to improve both stress transfer and interfacial properties. Compared with conventional SiC whiskers, which have been grown as single crystals on fibres, CNTs possess smaller diameters, lower density, better alignment and mechanical properties, higher surface area and a lower coefficient of thermal expansion...