Effect of CNF Size and Content on Electrical and Mechanical Properties of CNF/UPR Nanocomposites
Shi-Hong WU, Ken KURASHIKI, Qing-Qing NI, Toshiaki NATSUKI, Masaharu IWAMOTO
Abstract:The carbon nanofiber (CNF)/unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) nanocomposites are fabricated, and their electrical, dynamic mechanical properties are investigated. The electrical conductivity is measured as a function of fiber content to understand the percolation phenomenon. The nanocomposites show the electrical conductivity with low percolation threshold between 2 and 3 vol.%. The mechanical damping and storage modulus of the composites were measured using a dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA). Damping factor decrease with an increasing in the fiber volume fraction. Nanocomposites having long nanofiber should have higher damping and lower storage modulus than those having short fiber. For the analytical model, the elastic-viscoelastic correspondence principle is used to transform the elastic Halpin-Tsai equations to complex form. The model is then validated for the prediction of the damping and storage modulus of CNF/UPR nanocomposites having a randomly orientation of nanofiber. Good agreement between measured and predicted for storage modulus and damping factor of nanocomposites was recognized. Key Words:Carbon nanofiber, Nanocomposites, Electrical properties, Dynamic mechanical properties, Analytical, Microstructures