 | Dr. Abduljabar' s team at KFUPM recently discovered a solution to minimize the emissions of transportation mediums that use carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer composites (CFRP) as their structural material by enhancing the interfacial characteristics and therefore reducing weight. Greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere, increasing Earth’s surface temperature from 1–4 °C by 2100. One of the significant contributors to emitting these gases is the transportation sector. Energy consumption in transport is dependent on a vehicle’s mass. Therefore, reducing the vehicle’s weight will have an immediate positive impact on reducing the emitted gases. Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites (CFRP) are seen as a suitable candidate when a high strength-to-weight ratio and stiffness (rigidity) are required due to their excellent strength and lightweight properties. Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites (CFRP) are used in various demanding applications, mainly in the aerospace and automotive industry. The adoption of CFRP is increasing every year with the Airbus A350 XWB built primarily using CFRP (52%). |
As materials scientists, it is imperative to improve the performance of these materials to support their wide-scale adaptability which will aid in reducing carbon emissions by lowering the weight of these transport mediums. Dr. Abduljabar and his team have made strides in this field by introducing carbon nanotube loadings to the surfaces of carbon fibers to improve interfacial properties.
The interface of fibers and polymer is critical to the composites’ structural properties. Under compression, fiber-reinforced composites suffer a range of failures typically associated with fiber micro-buckling or kinking linked to interfacial issues. A conventional solution is the dispersion of additives such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in a polymer matrix. This study implemented an atomistic computational method in the form of Molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the impact of introducing different carbon nanotube loadings to the surface of carbon fibers and characterize the interfacial properties. Computational studies indicated improvement in the elastic-plastic response, fracture toughness, and fiber/matrix stiffness by altering the load path under de-bonding. A series of Molecular Dynamics simulations were performed to construct the following components individually: CFs, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), and polypropylene (PP) as the matrix. This model was then subjected to uniaxial stress deformation through MD simulation. Introducing these materials resulted in the interfacial energy just below two angstroms increased by 180% and 700% for the 1 and 3 wt.% SWCNT loading, respectively.
This advancement in structural components for the automotive industry can contribute to emissions reduction. Therefore, the explored theoretical atomistic modeling in this project may lay a building block for more advanced computational research to design and optimize nano-engineered CFs.