Mechanical, electrical and microstructural characterisation of multifunctional structural power compositesShow others and affiliations
2015 (English)In: Journal of composite materials, ISSN 0021-9983, E-ISSN 1530-793X, Vol. 49, no 15, p. 1823-1834p. 1823-1834Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Multifunctional composites which can fulfil more than one role within a system have attracted considerable interest. This work focusses on structural supercapacitors which simultaneously carry mechanical load whilst storing/delivering electrical energy. Critical mechanical properties (in-plane shear and in-plane compression performance) of two monofunctional and four multifunctional materials were characterised, which gave an insight into the relationships between these properties, the microstructures and fracture processes. The reinforcements included baseline T300 fabric, which was then either grafted or sized with carbon nanotubes, whilst the baseline matrix was MTM57, which was blended with ionic liquid and lithium salt (two concentrations) to imbue multifunctionality. The resulting composites exhibited a high degree of matrix heterogeneity, with the ionic liquid phase preferentially forming at the fibres, resulting in poor matrix-dominated properties. However, fibre-dominated properties were not depressed. Thus, it was demonstrated that these materials can now offer weight savings over conventional monofunctional systems when under modest loading.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Sage Publications, 2015. Vol. 49, no 15, p. 1823-1834p. 1823-1834
Keywords [en]
Carbon fibres, elastic properties, fractography, functional composites, mechanical properties
National Category
Materials Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-13068DOI: 10.1177/0021998314554125Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-84930710377OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ri-13068DiVA, id: diva2:973264
2016-09-222016-09-222019-07-11Bibliographically approved