Multifunctional Carbon Fibre Surface and Composite Interphase

传统纤维表面和传统复合界面的多功能在材料科学和工程领域引起了广泛的科学关注。在碳纤维表面添加纳米填料(即石墨烯纳米板或碳纳米管)以开发多功能复合材料的研究还有待于深入探讨。目前还没有关于纳米颗粒在增强纤维拉伸、界面和复合材料机械性能方面的作用的信息。在该提案中，碳纳米材料将被用于将机械和电气功能集成到传统的碳纤维表面和复合中间相中。具有纳米级组成/性能梯度的界面有望获得量身定制的机械性能。重要的是，我们将突出基于纤维表面导电碳纳米填料网络的自诊断能力。我们将认识到，复合界面最初的弱点可以在传感应用中承担新的角色。通过结构健康监测来了解复合材料的结构形成和结构变化对应力/应变、温度和湿度的响应。具有新型纳米界面传感能力的复合材料可以在裂纹变得关键之前对其进行传感，从而使下一代复合材料(即飞机)变得更安全，这也可能在许多领域得到应用，如智能复合材料制造、化学反应或液体泄漏检测等。

Multi-functions at conventional fibre surface and traditional composite interphases have been attracting extensive scientific attention in materials science and engineering. The investigation on the hierarchical nanostructured carbon fibre surface with nano-fillers (i.e. graphene nanoplateletes or carbon nanotubes) for developing multi-functional composite materials is yet to explore in details. No information on the role of the nanoparticles on strengthening the fibre tensile, interface and composite mechanical properties is available. In the proposal, carbon nanoparticle materials will be used to integrate mechanical and electrical functionalities into conventional carbon fibre surfaces and composite interphases. The interphase with a nanometre-scale composition/property gradient will be expected to achieve tailor mechanical properties. Importantly, we will highlight the self-diagnosing ability based on the electrical conducting carbon nano-filler networks on the fibre surface. We will identify that the originally weak point of a composite interphase can take over new roles for sensing applications. Understanding the structure forming and structural changes in response to stress/strain, temperature and moisture by structure health monitoring in composites will be studied. The composite materials with novel nanoscale interphase sensing capabilities could make the next generation of composites (i.e., for aeroplanes) safer by sensing cracks before they become critical, which may also find applications in many fields, such as smart composite fabrication, chemical reaction or liquid leak detection, et al.