Comparing damping properties of singlewalled and multiwalled carbon nanotube polymer composites

Jonghwan Suhr, Linda Schadler, Pulickel Ajayan, Nikhil Koratkar

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this paper we compare the damping properties of polymer nano-composites filled with singlewalled and multiwalled carbon nanotube fillers. The polymer material chosen for this study is polycarbonate (Lexan 121, General Electric). The nanotube fillers are dispersed in the matrix using a novel solution mixing technique with tetra-hydro-furan as the solvent. Both the multiwalled and the singlewalled nanotube filled samples show higher damping level compared to the pristine (or unfilled) polycarbonate. However, the loss modulus of nano-composite samples with singlewalled nanotubes is significantly greater than with multiwalled tubes. This suggests that since the inner shells of the multiwalled tubes are not in contact with the polymer, they do not contribute to interfacial frictional sliding; this reduces the damping efficiency of the multiwalled tubes relative to the singlewalled tubes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1550-1557
Number of pages8
JournalCollection of Technical Papers - AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference
Volume3
StatePublished - 2005
Externally publishedYes
Event46th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference - Austin, TX, United States
Duration: 18 Apr 200521 Apr 2005

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Comparing damping properties of singlewalled and multiwalled carbon nanotube polymer composites'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this