Materials, Vol. 12, Pages 2998: Different Methods of Dispersing Carbon Nanotubes in Epoxy Resin and Initial Evaluation of the Obtained Nanocomposite as a Matrix of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Laminate in Terms of Vibroacoustic Performance and Flammability (Materials)

Different industrial mixing methods and some of their combinations ((1) ultrasound; (2) mechanical stirring; (3) by roller machine; (4) by gears machine; and (5) ultrasound radiation + high stirring) were investigated for incorporating multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) into a resin based on an aeronautical epoxy precursor cured with diaminodiphenylsulfone (DDS). The effect of different parameters, ultrasound intensity, number of cycles, type of blade, and gear speed on the nanofiller dispersion were analyzed. The inclusion of the nanofiller in the resin causes a drastic increase in the viscosity, preventing the homogenization of the resin and a drastic increase in temperature in the zones closest to the ultrasound probe. To face these challenges, the application of high-speed agitation simultaneously with the application of ultrasonic radiation was applied. This allowed, on the one hand, a homogeneous dispersion, and on the other hand, an improvement of the dissipation of heat generated by ultrasonic radiation. The most efficient method was a combination of ultrasound radiation assisted by a high stirring method with the calendar, which was used for the preparation of a carbon fiber reinforced panel (CFRP). The manufactured panel was subjected to dynamic and vibroacoustic tests in order to characterize structural damping and sound transmission loss properties. Under both points of view, the new formulation demonstrated an improved efficiency with reference to a standard CFRP equivalent panel. In fact, for this panel, the estimated damping value was well above the average of the typical values representative of the carbon fiber laminates (generally less than 1%), and also a good vibroacoustic performance was detected as the nanotube based panel exhibited a higher sound transmission loss (STL) at low frequencies, in correspondence with the normal mode participation region. The manufactured panel was also characterized in terms of fire performance using a cone calorimeter and the results were compared to those obtained using a commercially available monocomponent RTM6 (Hexcel composites) epoxy aeronautic resin with the same process and the same fabric and lamination. Compared to the traditional RTM6 resin, the panel with the epoxy nanofilled resin exhibits a significant improvement in fire resistance properties both in terms of a delay in the ignition time and in terms of an increase in the thermal resistance of the material. Compared to the traditional panel, made in the same conditions as the RTM6 resin, the time of ignition of the nanotube-based panel increased by 31 seconds while for the same panel, the heat release rate at peak, the average heat release rate, and the total heat release decreased by 21.4%, 48.5%, and 15%, respectively. The improvement of the fire performance was attributed to the formation of a non-intumescent char due to the simultaneous presence of GPOSS and carbon nanotubes.