Instrumentation and Control of Carbon Nanotube Fibre Manufacture

在剑桥大学的过去7年里，温德尔教授领导的一个团队开发了一种工艺，能够在一次操作中制造由缠绕的多壁和单壁碳纳米丘组成的连续碳纤维。这种制造高性能纤维的突破性工艺的潜力使其有机会在广泛的工业部门中得到应用。它提供了一种颠覆性技术，如果通过更大的制造创新成功开发，将在许多机械和电气应用中取代传统材料。此外，剑桥团队目前建立的研究职位为英国在新材料供应链、新制造工艺技术和产品创新方面的领先发展提供了一个重要机会，这些都是与传统同行不同的一步。到目前为止，温德尔教授的工作已经通过一系列工艺创新建立了基本的制造工艺。为了建立制造基础，在反应器设计、催化剂材料和操作条件方面取得了许多进展。现在可以在一次连续的操作中生产数千公里的纤维。然而，目前实验室生产系统的局限性包括：材料特性的变化，如纤维宽度；碳纳米管晶体结构；机械强度；导热和导电性。这些问题已经成为具有已知特性的材料持续高体积生产的重大障碍。该项目将开发先进的在线仪器和制造技术解决方案，使碳纳米管纤维的生产得到严格控制，并保证足够的质量和数量，使工业用户能够开始测试其新产品中的材料。新型碳纳米管纤维可以在发电、航空航天、汽车、国防和消费品等所有领域得到广泛应用。

Over the past 7 years at Cambridge, a team led by Prof Windle has developed a process capable of making continuous carbon fibres in a single operation that are composed of entangled multi and single wall carbon nanotunes. The potential of this ground-breaking process for making high performance fibres has led to the opportunity of it being applied in a broad range of industrial sectors. It offers a disruptive technology that, if successfully developed through greater manufacturing innovations, is poised to replace traditional materials in a host of mechanical and electrical applications. Moreover, the current research position established by the Cambridge team offers a significant opportunity for the UK to take the lead in the development of a new materials supply chain, new manufacturing process technologies, and product innovations that are a step change from their conventional counterparts. Prof Windle's work to date has established the basic manufacturing process through a series of many process innovations. Numerous advances in reactor design, catalyst materials, and operating conditions have been explored in order to establish the manufacturing foundations. Many kilometres of fibre can now be produced in a continuous operation. However, limitations of the current laboratory production system include: variation in material characteristics such as fibre width; CNT crystal structure; mechanical strength; thermal and electrical conductivity. These issues have become a significant barrier to the consistent high volumetric production of materials with known characteristics. This project will develop advanced on-line instrumentation and manufacturing technology solutions that will enable the tightly controlled production of CNT fibre with sufficient quality and and in sufficient quantity that will allow industrial users to begin testing the materials in their new products. The new CNT fibres could find widespread applications in all sectors including power generation, aerospace, automotive, defence and consumer goods.