Nanowire Interfaces for Composites with High Strength Across Strain Rates

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The research objective of this award is to study nanostructured interfaces in polymer fiber reinforced composites such that lightweight materials can be designed for both structural and ballistic performance. To achieve this objective a nanostructured interface consisting of ZnO nanowires will be grown on the fiber surface. The nanowire growth process is highly controllable and acts to enhance the load transfer between the matrix and fiber and provide out of plane reinforcement. The controllable nanowire growth provides a means for optimizing the interfacial properties such that an ideal material response can be obtained at both high and low strain rates. The optimal interface will be designed through a series of experimental tests and molecular dynamics simulations performed under this research effort to provide a fundamental understanding of how a nanostructured interface carries load and how it fails at both high and low strain rates. The findings will be used to illuminate other potential materials for further gains in strength.The broader impacts of this this award focus on creating a better understanding of interfaces in composite materials. Specifically, the award will identify a theory defining the relation between a nanoscale interface and the bulk composite properties and a first of its kind lightweight multifunctional material that provides excellent loading bearing properties and blast resistance. The findings will be used to illuminate other potential materials for further gains in strength and applications for the technology. Additionally, Improved understanding of the interaction between materials with a nanostructured interfaces and how the properties of nanomaterials translate to the bulk could lead to improved interfacial performance in carbon fiber composites or fiber reinforced ceramics and metals.