Electrical and mechanical property investigation of fuzzy fibre-reinforced composites

The vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) that are added into fiber reinforced polymer matrix composite can significantly improve not only mechanical but also electrical properties of composites and called as hybrid or nanoengineered composites (NECs). In this study, CNTs are directly grown onto advanced microfibers to fabricate fuzzy fiber reinforced nano-engineered composites (FF-NECs). In addition to fuzzy fibers, the polymer matrix is also toughened by CNT dispersion to achieve a combined mechanical and electrical enhancement on NECs. Mechanical property investigation is investigated by Mode-I fracture toughness and the electrical measurements in plane and out of plane is measured, as well. While steady-state toughness of NECs and FF-NECs exhibit almost same initiation toughness with increasing 113% and 119%, respectively, the electrical conductivity of NECs and FF-NECs are improved about 3 and 7-8 orders of magnitude respectively.