Processing parameters of melt mixing (one of the most conventional techniques in polymer processing) play a significant role in the quality and properties of the resulting material, especially when nanoreinforcements are involved. The current study investigates varying processing temperature, rotation speed and elements of the screw extruder, aiming to enhance mechanical properties of polyethylene (PE) nanocomposites by improving dispersion of nanoparticles from a commercial masterbatch in two grades of PE. The study investigates the effect of a common compatibilizer (MAPE) and shearing forces at varying amounts of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) in polyethylene. A comparison is made on mechanical properties, morphology, and changes in the microstructure. Results show that increasing amounts of GNPs lead to expected continuous increase of mechanical properties with reference to the base polymer. Addition of MAPE did not result in significant improvement in the performance of the studied systems. Use of stronger shear forces resulted in mostly negative impact on the properties. 

Functional integration and lightweight design are important tasks especially for modern electric vehicles. Development of multi-functional assemblies for the battery box of the future is one of the challenges in the field of electric mobility. The housing must perform many tasks: structural stiffening and sealing (waterproofness) as well as crash protection and thermal management for the batteries. In this paper results from a new developed multi-functional assembly of a SMC-aluminum battery tray will be presented and discussed. The outer housing shell is manufactured by forming SMC directly on an aluminum sandwich component in one stroke compression molding. Furthermore, passive temperature control functions are integrated into the core of the aluminum sandwich realized with switchable air-cooling and phase-change-material integrated into the foam. Additionally, sensors for structural health monitoring, temperature and humidity are integrated. Finally the process design and manufacturing tests will be explained.

A systematic investigation of phosphorus-based flame-retardant (PFR) systems in acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) is presented. The effect of various PFRs, combinations thereof and influence of different synergists is studied in terms of fire and mechanical performance, as well as toxicity of resulting ABS. Sustainable flame-retardant systems with a promising effect on the fire-retardant properties of ABS are identified: A combination of aluminum diethylphosphinate and ammonium polyphosphate is shown to exhibit superior flame-retardant properties in ABS compared to other studied PFRs and PFR combinations. Among a variety of studied potential synergists for this system, a grade of expandable graphite with a high-initiation temperature and a molybdenum-based smoke suppressant show the most promising effect, leading to a significant reduction of the peak heat release rate as well as the smoke production rate. Compared to current state-of-the-art brominated flame-retardant for ABS, the identified flame-retardant systems reduce the maximum smoke production rate by 70% and the peak heat release rate by 40%. However, a significant reduction of the impact performance of the resulting ABS is identified, which requires further investigation.

The deformation of polymers at constant applied stress is one of their major drawbacks, limiting their use in advanced applications. The study of this property using classical techniques requires extensive testing over long periods of time. It is well known that reinforced polymers show improved behavior over time compared to their neat counterparts. In this study, the effect of adding different amounts of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) on the time-dependent properties of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) is investigated using short-term creep tests and load/unload recovery tests. The results are discussed in terms of the test profile and the influence of loading history. Viscoplasticity/viscoelasticity analysis is performed using Zapas model and by comparing creep, creep compliance and pure viscoelasticity curves. The results show that the reinforcement of 15 wt% GNP have the most significant effect on the time-dependent behavior, reducing the strain by more than 50%. The creep compliance curves show that nano-reinforced HDPE behaves nonlinearly viscoelastically even at very low stresses. In addition to demonstrating the effect of nano-reinforcement, the discussion of the results concludes that the influence of loading history can be quite significant and should not be neglected in the design and evaluation of material behavior. © 2021 The Authors.

This paper investigates the utilization of commercial masterbatches of graphene nanoplatelets to improve the properties of neat polymer and wood fiber composites manufactured by conventional processing methods. The effect of aspect ratio of the graphene platelets (represented by the different number of layers in the nanoplatelet) on the properties of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) is discussed. The composites were characterized for their mechanical properties (tensile, flexural, impact) and physical characteristics (morphology, crystallization, and thermal stability). The effect of the addition of nanoplatelets on the thermal conductivity and diffusivity of the reinforced polymer with different contents of reinforcement was also investigated. In general, the mechanical performance of the polymer was enhanced at the presence of either of the reinforcements (graphene or wood fiber). The improvement in mechanical properties of the nanocomposite was notable considering that no compatibilizer was used in the manufacturing. The use of a masterbatch can promote utilization of nano-modified polymer composites on an industrial scale without modification of the currently employed processing methods and facilities.

Life cycle assessment is a methodology to assess environmental impacts associated with a product or system/process by accounting resource requirements and emissions over its life cycle. The life cycle consists of four stages: material production, manufacturing, use, and end-of-life. This study highlights the need to conduct life cycle assessment (LCA) early in the new product development process, as a means to assess and evaluate the environmental impacts of (nano)enhanced carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) prototypes over their entire life cycle. These prototypes, namely SleekFast sailing boat and handbrake lever, were manufactured by functionalized carbon fibre fabric and modified epoxy resin with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The environmental impacts of both have been assessed via LCA with a functional unit of '1 product piece'. Climate change has been selected as the key impact indicator for hotspot identification (kg CO2 eq). Significant focus has been given to the end-of-life phase by assessing different recycling scenarios. In addition, the respective life cycle inventories (LCIs) are provided, enabling the identification of resource hot spots and quantifying the environmental benefits of end-of-life options. © 2020 by the authors.

An electrophoretic deposition (EPD) prototype was developed aiming at the continuous production of carbon nanotube (CNT) deposited carbon fiber fabric. Such multi-scale reinforcement was used to manufacture carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites. The overall objective was to improve the mechanical performance and functionalities of CFRP composites. In the current study, the design concept and practical limit of the continuous EPD prototype, as well as the flexural strength and interlaminar shear strength, were the focus. Initial mechanical tests showed that the flexural stiffness and strength of composites with the developed reinforcement were significantly reduced with respect to the composites with pristine reinforcement. However, optical microscopy study revealed that geometrical imperfections, such as waviness and misalignment, had been introduced into the reinforcement fibers and/or bundles when being pulled through the EPD bath, collected on a roll, and dried. These defects are likely to partly or completely shadow any enhancement of the mechanical properties due to the CNT deposit. In order to eliminate the effect of the discovered defects, the pristine reinforcement was subjected to the same EPD treatment, but without the addition of CNT in the EPD bath. When compared with such water-treated reinforcement, the CNT-deposited reinforcement clearly showed a positive effect on the flexural properties and interlaminar shear strength of the composites. It was also discovered that CNTs agglomerate with time under the electric field due to the change of ionic density, which is possibly due to the electrolysis of water (for carboxylated CNT aqueous suspension without surfactant) or the deposition of ionic surfactant along with CNT deposition (for non-functionalized CNT aqueous suspension with surfactant). Currently, this sets time limits for the continuous deposition.

In this study, an assessment of the composite processing-related properties of a newly developed 6-FDA-based phenylethynyl-terminated polyimide (available under the tradename NEXIMID®MHT-R) is presented. Processing schemes, used for preparing high quality carbon fibre-reinforced composites by the use of conventional resin transfer moulding are developed and presented. The influences of manufacturing parameters on glass transition temperature of the composites are presented. The results confirm that composites with exceptionally high Tg, in the range between 350 and 460℃ can be achieved. A manufacturing scheme that yields in composites with Tg of 370℃ is presented and proposed as a good candidate to serve as baseline for further studies.

This study presents a survey of literatures including recent work in relevant projects, ongraphene modified polymeric composites with a particular focus on fibre reinforcedpolymeric composites.A variety of routes that are used and can potentially be used to integrate graphene intocomposites are reviewed, including dispersing graphene into a polymer matrix, dopinggraphene onto fibre reinforcement, graphene modified prepreg and the use of graphenebuckypaper. The effect of processing parameters, such as dispersion and doping methods,temperature, pressure, etc., along with modification of graphene, on the structure andmechanical, electrical, thermal, barrier, rheological and crystalline properties of the resultantcomposites are also reviewed.The most prominent influencing factors are the intrinsic properties of graphene includingaspect ratio of nanoplatelets and surface functionalization, dispersion and exfoliation as wellas orientation and alignment of graphene, and interactions of graphene-polymer andgraphene-fibre reinforcement. The selection of processing techniques and tailoring ofinfluencing factors depend on the required properties. For instance, deposited graphene ontofibres for reinforcement can be more efficient than dispersed graphene into the polymer toimprove the interfacial and interlaminar properties. Well-dispersed and randomly orientedgraphene can be more beneficial than well-dispersed and aligned graphene for higherelectrical conductivity while less favoured for higher mechanical properties. Potentialapplications of graphene modified polymeric composites addressing industrial and societalchallenges are also discussed.

Itis important within the composite community to improve out-of-plane performance ofcomposites dominated by polymer matrix and properties of matrix-rich regions formed in the gapsbetween the interlaced fibre bundles. These properties are difficult to modify with traditional fibrereinforcement. Various nanoscale materials have been explored for such purpose, among which carbonnanotube (CNT) has been suggested as an ideal candidate because of its outstanding mechanical,electrical and thermal properties (1). Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is considered as a cost-effectivemethod to deposit CNTs onto substrates with mild working conditions, requiring relatively simpleequipment and being amenable to scaling up (2,3). Due to the shortcoming of existing laboratory setupwhich corresponds to a non-continuous process, EPD has not been used at even a pilot plant scale fornano-coated fibre reinforcement. The current work presents the development of a prototype andmethod for continuous EPD process. Geometric defect of fibre reinforcement introduced during thedeposition, which can shadow the reinforcing effect of CNT deposit, was discovered. Enhancement ofcomposite properties by the CNT deposit was hence shown.