 |
|
MIT: 'Nanostitching' could strengthen airplane skins, more
March 05, 2009CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--MIT engineers are using carbon nanotubes only billionths of a meter thick to stitch together aerospace materials in work that could make airplane skins and other products some 10 times stronger at a nominal increase in cost.
Moreover, advanced composites reinforced with nanotubes are also more than one million times more electrically conductive than their counterparts without nanotubes, meaning aircraft built with such materials would have greater protection against damage from lightning, said Brian L. Wardle, the Charles Stark Draper Assistant Professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Wardle is lead author of a theoretical paper on the new nanotube-reinforced composites that will appear in the Journal of Composite Materials (http://jcm.sagepub.com/). He also described the work as keynote speaker at a Society of Plastics Engineers conference this week.
The advanced materials currently used for many aerospace applications are composed of layers, or plies, of carbon fibers that in turn are held together with a polymer glue. But that glue can crack and otherwise result in the carbon-fiber plies coming apart. As a result, engineers have explored a variety of ways to reinforce the interface between the layers by stitching, braiding, weaving or pinning them together.
All of these processes, however, are problematic because the relatively large stitches or pins penetrate and damage the carbon-fiber plies themselves. "And those fiber plies are what make composites so strong," Wardle said.
So Wardle wondered whether it would make sense to reinforce the plies in advanced composites with nanotubes aligned perpendicular to the carbon-fiber plies. Using computer models of how such a material would fracture, "we convinced ourselves that reinforcing with nanotubes should work far better than all other approaches," Wardle said. His team went on to develop processing techniques for creating the nanotubes and for incorporating them into existing aerospace composites, work that was published last year in two separate journals.
How does nanostitching work? The polymer glue between two carbon-fiber layers is heated, becoming more liquid-like. Billions of nanotubes positioned perpendicular to each carbon-fiber layer are then sucked up into the glue on both sides of each layer. Because the nanotubes are 1000 times smaller than the carbon fibers, they don't detrimentally affect the much larger carbon fibers, but instead fill the spaces around them, stitching the layers together.
"So we're putting the strongest fibers known to humankind [the nanotubes] in the place where the composite is weakest, and where they're needed most," Wardle said. He noted that these dramatic improvements can be achieved with nanotubes comprising less than one percent of the mass of the overall composite. In addition, he said, the nanotubes should add only a few percent to the cost of the composite, "while providing substantial improvements in bulk multifunctional properties."
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The advanced materials currently used for many aerospace applications are composed of layers, or plies, of carbon fibers that in turn are held together with a polymer glue. But that glue can crack and otherwise result in the carbon-fiber plies coming apart. As a result, engineers have explored a variety of ways to reinforce the interface between the layers by stitching, braiding, weaving or pinning them together.
All of these processes, however, are problematic because the relatively large stitches or pins penetrate and damage the carbon-fiber plies themselves. "And those fiber plies are what make composites so strong," Wardle said.
So Wardle wondered whether it would make sense to reinforce the plies in advanced composites with nanotubes aligned perpendicular to the carbon-fiber plies. Using computer models of how such a material would fracture, "we convinced ourselves that reinforcing with nanotubes should work far better than all other approaches," Wardle said. His team went on to develop processing techniques for creating the nanotubes and for incorporating them into existing aerospace composites, work that was published last year in two separate journals.
How does nanostitching work? The polymer glue between two carbon-fiber layers is heated, becoming more liquid-like. Billions of nanotubes positioned perpendicular to each carbon-fiber layer are then sucked up into the glue on both sides of each layer. Because the nanotubes are 1000 times smaller than the carbon fibers, they don't detrimentally affect the much larger carbon fibers, but instead fill the spaces around them, stitching the layers together.
"So we're putting the strongest fibers known to humankind [the nanotubes] in the place where the composite is weakest, and where they're needed most," Wardle said. He noted that these dramatic improvements can be achieved with nanotubes comprising less than one percent of the mass of the overall composite. In addition, he said, the nanotubes should add only a few percent to the cost of the composite, "while providing substantial improvements in bulk multifunctional properties."
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Nanotubes Current Events and Nanotubes News RSSImmune cells use bungee of death to kill dangerous cells, shows new research
Immune cells ensnare dangerous cells that are on the run with a bungee-like nanotube, according to research published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
New sensor array detects single molecules for the first time
MIT chemical engineers have built a sensor array that, for the first time, can detect single molecules of hydrogen peroxide emanating from a single living cell.
MIT researchers discover new way of producing electricity
A team of scientists at MIT have discovered a previously unknown phenomenon that can cause powerful waves of energy to shoot through minuscule wires known as carbon nanotubes.
MIT scientists transform polyethylene into a heat-conducting material
Most polymers - materials made of long, chain-like molecules - are very good insulators for both heat and electricity. But an MIT team has found a way to transform the most widely used polymer, polyethylene, into a material that conducts heat just as well as most metals, yet remains an electrical insulator.
Material tested that could guarantee body protheses for more than 150 years
Current body protheses do not last more than 10-15 years. After this time, the operation has to be repeated in order to change prothesis. It is usually problematic as, in general, it is elderly people that use the procedure.
Nanotechnology sparks energy storage on paper and cloth
By dipping ordinary paper or fabric in a special ink infused with nanoparticles, Stanford engineer Yi Cui has found a way to cheaply and efficiently manufacture lightweight paper batteries and supercapacitors (which, like batteries, store energy, but by electrostatic rather than chemical means), as well as stretchable, conductive textiles known as "eTextiles" - capable of storing energy while retaining the mechanical properties of ordinary paper or fabric.
Digging deep into diamonds, applied physicists advance quantum science and technology
By creating diamond-based nanowire devices, a team at Harvard has taken another step towards making applications based on quantum science and technology possible.
Nano imagining takes turn for the better
Stephan Link wants to understand how nanomaterials align, and his lab's latest work is a step in the right direction.
Engineers explore environmental concerns of nanotechnology
As researchers around the world hasten to employ nanotechnology to improve production methods for applications that range from manufacturing materials to creating new pharmaceutical drugs, a separate but equally compelling challenge exists.
Gecko's lessons transfer well
Watch a gecko walk up a wall. It defies gravity as it sticks to the surface no matter how smooth it appears to be.
More Nanotubes Current Events and Nanotubes News Articles
 |
Carbon Nanotube Science: Synthesis, Properties and Applications by Peter J. F. Harris (Author) Carbon nanotubes represent one of the most exciting research areas in modern science. These molecular-scale carbon tubes are the stiffest and strongest fibres known, with remarkable electronic properties, and potential applications in a wide range of fields. Carbon Nanotube Science is the most concise, accessible book for the field, presenting the basic knowledge that graduates and researchers need to know. Based on the successful Carbon Nanotubes and Related Structures, this new book focuses solely on carbon nanotubes, covering the major advances made in recent years in this rapidly developing field. Chapters focus on electronic properties, chemical and bimolecular functionalisation, nanotube composites and nanotube-based probes and sensors. The book begins with a comprehensive... |
 |
Physical Properties of Carbon Nanotubes by R. Saito (Author) This text is intended for researchers who want to perform theoretical analysis of carbon nanotubes. It can be used by graduate students in a solid state physics to learn how to investigate the structure of carbon nanotubes, its electronic and vibrational properties. |
 |
Carbon Nanotubes: Properties and Applications by Michael J. OConnell (Author) Since their discovery more than a decade ago, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have held scientists and engineers in captive fascination, seated on the verge of enormous breakthroughs in areas such as medicine, electronics, and materials science, to name but a few. Taking a broad look at CNTs and the tools used to study them, Carbon Nanotubes: Properties and Applications comprises the efforts of leading nanotube researchers led by Michael O’Connell, protégé of the late father of nanotechnology, Richard Smalley. Each chapter is a self-contained treatise on various aspects of CNT synthesis, characterization, modification, and applications. The book opens with a general introduction to the basic characteristics and the history of CNTs, followed by discussions on synthesis methods and the... |
 |
Nanotube Particular (Primary Contributor) |
 |
Easton MonkeyLite SL CNT Carbon Fiber MTB Riser Bicycle Handlebar (25.4mm Diameter, 610mm Wide, 20mm Rise) by Easton New carbon unidirectional design |
 |
Carbon Nanotube Electronics (Integrated Circuits and Systems) by Ali Javey (Editor), Jing Kong (Editor) This book provides a complete overview of the field of carbon nanotube electronics. It covers materials and physical properties, synthesis and fabrication processes, devices and circuits, modeling, and finally novel applications of nanotube-based electronics. The book introduces fundamental device physics and circuit concepts of 1-D electronics while at the same time provides specific examples of the state-of-the-art nanotube devices and novel technological applications, including chemical and biological sensors, opto-electronics, and flexible macro-electronics. This book provides a complete guide to the field of nanotube electronics. |
 |
Titanate and Titania Nanotubes: Synthesis, Properties and Applications (RSC Nanoscience and Nanotechnology) by Dmitry Bavykin (Author), Frank C. Walsh (Author) This exciting new book is a unique compilation of data from a wide range of chemical and spectroscopic instrumentation and the integration of nanostructure characterization drawn from physical, chemical, electrochemical, spectroscopic and electron microscopic measurements. It fills a gap in the current nanomaterials literature by documenting the latest research from scientific journals and patent literature to provide a concise yet balanced and integrated treatment of an interesting topic: titanium oxide nanostructures within the emerging fashionable area of nanomaterials. |
 |
Easton MonkeyLite DH CNT Carbon Fiber MTB Riser Bicycle Handlebar (31.8mm Diameter, 711mm Wide, 40mm Rise) by Easton New carbon unidirectional design |
 |
Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Composites: Metal and Ceramic Matrices by Sie Chin Tjong (Author) Providing a broad insight into the potential applications of carbon nanotubes with metals and ceramic materials as a matrix, this book focuses on the preparation and the microstructural, physical, and mechanical characterizations of such novel nanocomposites. It features information on current synthesis and structure-property-relationships of metals and ceramics reinforced with CNT, organizing the vast array of surveys scattered throughout the literature in a single monograph. With its laboratory protocols and data tables this is invaluable reading for research workers and academics, as well as for applied scientists and industry personnel. |
 |
Maps Kani (Primary Contributor) |
| © 2010 BrightSurf.com |