In this image, carbon nanotubes are
randomly dispersed in an epoxy resin,
which can be molded into different
structures © Nikhil Koratkar
By infusing a polymer with electrically conductive carbon nanotubes, and then monitoring the structure’s electrical resistance, the researchers were able to pinpoint the location and length of a stress-induced crack in a composite structure. Once a crack is located, engineers can then send a short electrical charge to the area in order to heat up the carbon nanotubes and in turn melt an embedded healing agent that will flow into and seal the crack with a 70 percent recovery in strength.
Real-time detection and repair of fatigue-induced damage will greatly enhance the performance, reliability, and safety of structural components in a variety of engineering systems, according to principal investigator Nikhil A. Koratkar, an associate professor in Rensselaer’s Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering.
Koratkar’s team made a structure from common epoxy, the kind used to make everything from the lightweight frames of fighter jet wings to countless devices and components used in manufacturing and industry, but added enough multi-walled carbon nanotubes to comprise one percent of the structure’s total weight.
The team mechanically mixed the liquid epoxy to ensure the carbon nanotubes were properly dispersed throughout the structure as it dried in a mold. The researchers also introduced into the structure a series of wires in the form of a grid, which can be used to measure electrical resistance and also apply control voltages to the structure.
By sending a small amount of electricity through the carbon nanotubes, the research team was able to measure the electrical resistance between any two points on the wire grid.
They then created a tiny crack in the structure, and measured the electrical resistance between the two nearest grid points. Because the electrical current now had to travel around the crack to get from one point to another, the electrical resistance increased. The longer the crack grew, the higher the electrical resistance between the two points increased.
COMPAMED.de; Source: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute