STTR Phase I: Conversion of Enhanced Copper Foils to Wire Forms

这个小企业技术转让第一阶段项目将大大推进1）将联合收割机碳纳米管（CNT）结合到金属基体中的方法，2）将铜/CNT复合材料转化为线材同时保持CNT完整性的方法，3）在纳米复合材料生产或挤出过程中诱导CNT排列以优化导电性的方法，以及4）过程控制，以确保该技术可以按比例扩大到工业相关量。 在这项拟议的研究中，最大的挑战是了解CNT对齐的作用，因为它涉及到导电性和控制对齐，以产生所需的结果。 研究目标旨在通过在Cu/CNT生产期间以及在随后的挤出成线材期间诱导CNT对准来解决这一挑战。 预期的结果是1）Cu/CNT导线在20摄氏度下的电阻率为1.30 x 10-6 Ohm.cm（100%IACS- 1.68 x 10-6 Ohm.cm），以及2）可以在工业批量下始终如一地产生该性能的明确定义的工艺。该项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力包括开发具有上级电气性能的铜导体，其将具有显著的商业和社会价值。铜是世界？铜是使用最广泛的电导体，每年消耗约250亿磅铜。 然而，自从1913年国际退火铜标准（IACS）确定电阻率为1.68 × 10-6以来，铜的电性能没有显著改善。Ohm.cm增强铜导体的优点在需要增加导电性、电流容量、导热性和抗拉强度的应用中将得到高度重视。 早期采用该技术的主要市场包括电力传输、电动机、Transformer绕组、海底石油和天然气、电子和航空航天。 总的来说，通过这项研究实现的Cu/CNT线产品的估计市场潜力为每年20亿磅。 正是由于这些原因，国际铜业协会将该项目的产出描述为“一种先进的铜-碳纳米复合材料，将真正对广泛的技术领域产生变革性影响，并将为社会带来巨大利益”。

This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project will substantially advance 1) approaches to combine carbon nanotubes (CNT) into metal matrices, 2) processes to convert copper/CNT composites into wire while preserving CNT integrity, 3) methods to induce CNT alignment during either nanocomposite production or extrusion in order to optimize electrical conductivity, and 4) process control to ensure that the technology can be scaled to industrially-relevant volumes. The largest challenge in this proposed research is understanding the role of CNT alignment as it pertains to electrical conductivity and controlling the alignment to produce the desired results. The research objectives seek to solve that challenge through inducing CNT alignment during the Cu/CNT production and also during the subsequent extrusion into wire. The anticipated results are 1) a Cu/CNT wire that exhibits an electrical resistivity of 1.30 x 10-6 Ohm.cm (100% IACS - 1.68 x 10-6 Ohm.cm) @ 20 deg C, and 2) a well-defined process that can consistently produce that performance at industrial volumes.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project includes the development of a copper conductor with superior electrical performance which will have significant commercial and societal value. Copper is the world?s most widely used electrical conductor, consuming approximately twenty-five billion pounds of copper annually. However, no significant improvement in the electrical performance of copper has been realized since the International Annealed Copper Standard (IACS) established the electrical resistivity to be 1.68 x 10-6 Ohm.cm in 1913. The benefits of an enhanced copper conductor will be most highly valued in applications requiring increased electrical conductivity, current capacity, thermal conductivity, and tensile strength. Key markets for early adoption of this technology include electrical transmission, electric motors, transformer windings, subsea oil and gas, electronics, and aerospace. In total, the estimated market potential for the Cu/CNT wire product enabled by this research is on the order of two billion pounds per year. It is for these reasons that the International Copper Association describes the output of this project as "an advanced copper-carbon nanocomposite material that would truly have a transformative effect on a broad area of technology and would be of immense benefit to society".