• Composites Research
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.147-154
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• 2013

Nanocarbons such as carbon nanotubes (CNT) and graphene are considered to be ideal fillers for polymer composites, because of their outstanding mechanical properties and high length-to-diameter ratio. There has been much effort to realize the implementation of their full potential, but a large number of unsolved problems still must be challenged, for example, effective processing for fabrication. This review deals with the progress that has already been made in the area of nanocarbon polymer composites using CNT and graphene. Mechanical reinforcement of various nanocarbon polymer composites is analyzed and compared, and future perspectives in research and development that need to be done are discussed.

• Composites Research
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.76-81
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• 2012

Atmospheric pressure plasma treatment on carbon nanotube (CNT) surfaces was performed to modify reinforcement effect and interfacial adhesion of carbon fiber reinforced CNT-phenolic composites. The surface changes occurring on CNT treated with plasma were analyzed by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscope (FT-IR). The significant improvement of wettability on CNT was confirmed by static contact angle test after plasma treatment. Such plasma treatment resulted in a decrease in the advancing contact angle from $118^{\circ}$ to $60^{\circ}$. The interfacial adhesion between carbon fiber and CNT-phenolic composites increased by plasma treatment based on apparent modulus test results during quasi-static tensile strength. Furthermore, the proposed database offers valuable knowledge for evaluating interfacial shear strength (IFSS).

• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Structure & Construction
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.21-28
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• 2019

This study investigates the applicability of composite polyurea to contain fiber reinforcement like fiber glass, steel fiber and carbon nanotube. Polyurea as elastomer is an excellent water-proofing material with many mechanical characteristics such as high tensile strength, ductility, high rate of expansion and contraction, and so on. The reinforcing fibers can be utilized for improving the load-carrying capacity of concrete structures. The polyurea plays a role to improve the ductility and toughness. Composite polyurea takes the mechanical advantages of the fibers and the polyurea. The test variables include the type of reinforcing fiber, its spraying thickness, and its weight ratio contained in the composite polyurea. It is observed that the load-carrying capacity, and the ductility and toughness are improved with the increase in the spraying thickness and the weight ratio contained in the composite polyurea. It is expected that the composite polyurea can be widely utilized in enhancing the structural and seismic performance.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.297-305
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• 2024

This study investigates the buckling behavior of CNTRC beams on a Winkler-Pasternak elastic foundation, considering their stiffness. To achieve the highest accuracy, the shear stiffness is taken into account based on the Higher-order Shear Deformation Theory (HSDT). A novel exponential power-law distribution of the CNT volume fraction across the beam thickness is employed to model CNTRC beams. Various reinforcement patterns are incorporated into the polymer matrix, featuring single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) that are both aligned and distributed. The effective mechanical properties of the CNTRC beam are predicted using the rule of mixtures. Hamilton's principle is applied to derive the differential equations of motion. This theoretical framework enables the validation of the approach by comparing numerical simulation results with previous studies. The impact of the exponent order (n), CNT volume fraction, geometrical ratio, and Winkler-Pasternak parameters on buckling analysis is thoroughly presented and discussed. The results indicate that, among the different types of analyzed CNTRC beams, the X-Beam pattern demonstrates the highest buckling load capacity.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.332-340
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• 2023

This study investigated the effects of nanoparticles on the fracture toughness of cement mortar. Three-point bending tests, compressive tests, and slump tests were conducted on cement mortars reinforced with carbon nanotubes(CNTs), nanosilica(NS), and nano calcium carbonate(NC), respectively. Cement mortar with a water-to-cement ratio and a sand-to-cement ratio of 0.45 and 1.5, respectively, and reinforced with 0 and 2 vol.% of 19.5 mm steel fibers, respectively, was used. Reinforcement with nanoparticles partially improved the fracture toughness and compressive strength of the cement mortar. However, in the case of cement mortar reinforced with steel fibers, the reinforcement with nanoparticles was found to reduce the flowability of the mortar, adversely affecting the dispersion of steel fibers, and ultimately leading to a decrease in fracture toughness, contrary to the intended enhancement. Additional research is needed to improve the decrease in mortar fluidity caused by the reinforcement with nanoparticles.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.275-291
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• 2023

This paper has focused on presenting vibration analysis of trapezoidal sandwich plates with 3D-graphene foam reinforced polymer matrix composites (GrF-PMC) core and FG wavy CNT-reinforced face sheets. The porous graphene foam possessing 3D scaffold structures has been introduced into polymers for enhancing the overall stiffness of the composite structure. Also, 3D graphene foams can distribute uniformly or non-uniformly in the plate thickness direction. The effective Young's modulus, mass density and Poisson's ratio are predicted by the rule of mixture. In this study, the classical theory concerning the mechanical efficiency of a matrix embedding finite length fibers has been modified by introducing the tube-to-tube random contact, which explicitly accounts for the progressive reduction of the tubes' effective aspect ratio as the filler content increases. The First-order shear deformation theory of plate is utilized to establish governing partial differential equations and boundary conditions for trapezoidal plate. The governing equations together with related boundary conditions are discretized using a mapping-generalized differential quadrature (GDQ) method in spatial domain. Then natural frequencies of the trapezoidal sandwich plates are obtained using GDQ method. Validity of the current study is evaluated by comparing its numerical results with those available in the literature. It is explicated that 3D-GrF skeleton type and weight fraction, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) waviness and CNT aspect ratio can significantly affect the vibrational behavior of the sandwich structure. The plate's normalized natural frequency decreased and the straight carbon nanotube (w=0) reached the highest frequency by increasing the values of the waviness index (w).

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.159-165
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• 2021

The fiber composites have been investigated as lightweight structure material platforms for aerospace applications because their strength can be enhanced by adding reinforcement without a significant increase in weight. In this study, the fabrication and characterization of carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced glass fiber composites are demonstrated to enhance the tensile strength of longitudinal direction along the glass fibers. Due to the reinforcement of CNT in epoxy layers, the yield strength of fiber/epoxy composites is enhanced by about 10 %. Furthermore, using scanning electron microscopy, analysis of fracture surfaces shows that mixed CNT in epoxy layers acts as necking agents between fractured surfaces of fiber/epoxy; thereby, initiation and evolution of crack across fiber composite can be suppressed by CNT necking between fractured surfaces.

• Composites Research
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.371-378
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• 2018

In this study, the thermoelastic properties of poly lactic acid (PLA) based nanocomposites are predicted by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and a micromechanics model. The stereocomplex mixed with L-lactic acid (PLLA) and D-lactic acid (PDLA) is modeled as matrix phase and a single walled carbon nanotube is embedded as reinforcement. The glass transition temperature, elastic moduli and thermal expansion coefficients of pure matrix and nanocomposites unit cells are predicted though ensemble simulations according to the hydrolysis. In micromechanics model, the double inclusion (D-I) model with a perfect interface condition is adopted to predict the properties of nanocomposites at the same composition. It is found that the stereocomplex nanocomposites show prominent improvement in thermal stability and interfacial adsorption regardless of the hydrolysis. Moreover, it is confirmed from the comparison of MD simulation results with those from the D-I model that the interface between CNT and the stereocomplex matrix is slightly weak in nature.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.267-276
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• 2023

The main purpose of the current research is to develop an efficient two variables trigonometric shear deformation beam theory to investigate the buckling behavior of symmetric and non-symmetric functionally graded carbon nanotubes reinforced composite (FG-CNTRC) beam resting on an elastic foundation with various boundary conditions. The proposed theory obviates the use to shear correction factors as it satisfies the parabolic variation of through-thickness shear stress distribution. The composite beam is made of a polymeric matrix reinforced by aligned and distributed single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with different patterns of reinforcement. The material properties of the FG-CNTRC beam are estimated by using the rule of mixture. The governing equilibrium equations are solved by using new analytical solutions based on the Galerkin method. The robustness and accuracy of the proposed analytical model are demonstrated by comparing its results with those available by other researchers in the existing literature. Moreover, a comprehensive parametric study is presented and discussed in detail to show the effects of CNTs volume fraction, distribution patterns of CNTs, boundary conditions, length-to-thickness ratio, and spring constant factors on the buckling response of FG-CNTRC beam. Some new referential results are reported for the first time, which will serve as a benchmark for future research.