Multifunctional carbon/epoxy nanocomposites for aerospace structures

The embedding of carbon-based nanoparticles, such as carbon nanotubes and more recently graphene nanoplatelets, are investigated as a possible solution for a large number of challenges related to the application of aerospace structures. In particular, the current trend is creating multifunctional composite materials to carry out tasks generally performed by several elements. However, the industrial employment of such nanocomposite structures is still far from common due to the limitations in the manufacturing. For instance, a good dispersion of nanoparticles inside the polymer matrix is crucial to obtain a structure with homogeneous properties. Our work is focused on epoxy polymer matrices, which are largely used in high performance composite structures. In this context, we study the relation between the process technology, in particular liquid composite molding, and the mechanical, electromagnetic and thermal properties of the final nanocomposites. From the mechanical point of view, the nanoindentation technique is used to determine the hardness and the modulus of carbon nanotube reinforced-epoxy at the nanoscale, whereas the toughness is investigated by low energy impact tests. To understand the contribution of the carbon nanotubes to the toughness of nanocomposites, we perform high-resolution scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy on the fractured surfaces and we determine the failure modes of the carbon nanotubes after impact