Composite materials are widely used in the aerospace structures due to their characteristics of light weight and high strength, while composite material components are currently joined by heavy titanium fasteners. We propose here a novel joining method using unidirectional CF/PEEK thermoplastic composites fastener (TPCF). CF/PEEK TPCFs are prepared via mechanically machining unidirectional CF/PEEK

There are a wide variety of microstructural parameters which affect the macro-mechanical response of short fiber reinforced composites. Effects of these parameters could be captured using different micromechanics-based models. However, in some cases, it is very challenging and computationally expensive. In this study, a micromechanics-based Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) model is developed to predict

Transition metal selenides with low pollution, high chemical stability and high theoretical capacity are regarded as the most prospective candidate materials for sodium ions storage. However, its poor conductivity, drastic volume change and sluggish diffusion kinetics hinder potential commercialized practical applications. Herein, multi-yolk ZnSe/2(CoSe2) heterostructures confined in N-doped carbon

Liquid polyurethane (PU) resins are used to form anti-slip surface coatings. In this work, we reinforce PU resin films with few-layer graphene (FLG) nanoparticles incorporated by high-shear mixing. This process gives excellent dispersion as evidenced by optical and X-ray tomography. The FLG does not appreciably change the tensile strength or Shore hardness of the PU, but we report modest increase of

For most of Al–Mg–Si-(Cu) alloys and their composites, artificial aging hardening can be impaired by precedent natural aging. In this study, a pre-aging treatment before natural aging was adopted to improve the hardness of the artificially aged SiCp/6092Al composite and 6092Al alloy. Effects of the multi-step aging treatment, including pre-aging, natural aging and final artificial aging, on microstructures

Light-weight sandwich composites can be tailored to satisfy many specific application requirements and are inevitable for modern structures where reduced weight is extremely critical. However, these structures are highly vulnerable to debonding at the skin-core interface. The skin-core adhesion is an extremely crucial part of a sandwich structure; mostly responsible for transferring load and maintaining

Thermal conductive and electrical insulating polymer composites are showing tremendous potential for modern electrical systems and electronic devices. Melt blending has been utilized as an effective technique to prepare thermal interface materials. However, during the process of melt-blending, strong π-π stacking and particle aggregation may be caused by thermal heating and local mechanical stress

In this work, we successfully synthesized a new functional nano-additive called potassium carboxylate functionalized multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs-COOK) and introduced it into the interfacial polymerization system to fine-tune the structure and properties of the nanofiltration (NF) membrane. The embedded MWCNTs-COOK (150 ppm) tightened the network-crosslink structure of the selective layer and

Boron nitride's (BN) large band gap does not permit carrier transport at ambient conditions. We show that BN sheets can be exfoliated by functionalization with oxy-groups to introduce additional acceptor and donor energy levels appropriate for energy storage devices. Further, the incorporation of heteroatoms into transition metal sulfides enhances capacitance via Faradic redox reactions and their cyclic

This paper attempts to study the loading rate effect of interface tensile failure behavior of carbon fiber-epoxy composites toughened with ZnO nanowires (ZnO NWs). ZnO NWs were grown onto woven carbon fiber fabrics through a two-step hydrothermal method, the growth time was carefully controlled to vary the nanowire length. Subsequently, a series of quasi-static and dynamic transverse fiber bundle (TFB)

Simultaneously achieving high strength and ductility is a critical issue for graphene reinforced aluminum matrix composites, which couldn't be resolved by the conventional mechanical milling-powder metallurgy technology due to the following reasons. On one hand, the low addition of graphene in the matrix traceable to its poor dispersibility limits the further strength improvement. On the other hand

The fundamental evolution mechanisms of many important phenomena accompanying explosive welding of metal foils remain a subject of open discussion, due to the extreme difficulties of in-situ observations. In this work, a comprehensive study combined SPH (smoothed particles hydrodynamics) simulation and advanced characterization was performed to investigate the interfacial evolutions, nano-mechanical

We propose a new, alternative approach to predict lightning mechanical damage in AS4/3506 carbon/epoxy laminates using equivalent air blast overpressure (ABO). Three lightning mechanical damage models are presented: i) the Shock Wave Overpressure (SWO) model, ii) the Conventional Weapons Effects Program (CONWEP) ABO model, and iii) the Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian (CEL) ABO model. SWOs were determined

The hollow structural yarn of cellulose fibers can be easily flattened to remove their heat insulation ability and folded to incur unfavorable wrinkles. In contrast, natural hollow bamboos are flexible and shape-preserving with regard to external forces, and hollow cocoons are heat insulating to protect silkworms. Inspired by hollow bamboos and cocoons, a high resilience cotton base (i.e., silicon

One of the most critical aspects of composite materials is their vulnerability to impact loadings. In recent years, Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems have been developed to continuously watch over on the event of an impact and so monitor the health status of the structure. However, this technique needs the integration of sensors in the composite laminate, like Fiber Bragg Grating or piezoelectric

Tensile creep behavior of short-carbon-fiber reinforced polyetherimide (SCF/PEI) composites is investigated at ambient temperature by short and long creep tests in this work. Influences of carbon fiber concentration and applied tensile stress on the creep performance of SCF/PEI composites are studied. Four viscoelastic models are employed to quantify the viscoelastic behavior of SCF/PEI composites

Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have been widely used in civil engineering for either strengthening existing deteriorated reinforced concrete (RC) structures or constructing new structures. Recently, a new category of FRP composites with a large rupture strain (i.e., referred to as “LRS FRP” in this article) has become increasingly popular. In contrast with conventional FRP composites, LRS

The use of a high amount of reinforcing phase improves the mechanical performance of a polymeric composite structure. In composite foams this approach is associated to difficulties in developing a regular cellular structure, due to the hindering effect of such high amount of non polymeric phase on the bubble growth process. Additionally, the compressive response of foams produced with conventional

A new laser melting deposition (LMD) method was employed for Ti6Al4V to stimulate the columnar to equiaxed transition (CET) via adding 1 wt% ~ 5 wt% nano-sized B4C particles. Results indicate that the grains were signifcantly refined from 600 μm to 11 μm with the increasing content of B4C; When the B4C content was 3 wt%, the B4C/Ti6Al4V composite achieved CET; TiB and TiC reinforcements were produced

Lattice structures offer enhanced stiffness-to-weight characteristics for structures in highly mass sensitive applications like aviation and aerospace. The adaptability of composite materials allows for further optimisation of the structural layout of the lattice to reduce mass for primary aerospace structures. The attachment point on the lattice is a key structural feature, defining the interaction

Numerical modelling of 3D-printed Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) specimens with thermoplastic matrices reinforced with continuous fibres is still in its infancy. The existing numerical work is mostly related to the adhesion between printed filaments and not to the mechanical properties. However, the latter are one of the most important parameters that define the structural behaviour of the material

The titanium powder embedded with 2.5 vol% TiB was in-situ fabricated by gas atomization and applied for direct laser deposited (DLD) titanium matrix composites. Consistent with the network distributed boron-rich zone in composite powder, a three-dimensional (3D) in-situ ultrafine network structure, consisting of nano-TiB whiskers (TiBw), was characterized throughout the as-fabricated composite (DLDed

Flattened carbon nanotubes (flCNTs) are a promising form of composite material reinforcement because of their capacity for self-assembly and packing efficiency, which could ultimately lead to improved thermo-mechanical properties relative to current state-of-the-art composite materials. An important material design parameter for composite materials is the choice of polymer matrix, as characteristics

Negative thermal expansion (NTE) materials can compensate high thermal expansion of metal materials, showing great potential use in precision instruments and microelectronics field. We developed a near-zero thermal expansion ZrW2O8/Al–Si composites with three dimensional mutually interpenetrated structure. Pressure infiltration ensured dense structure and mild interface reaction. The resulting composite

In this study, Mg17Al12/Al ordered structure composites were prepared by infiltrating the ordered porous aluminum with the intermetallic compound Mg17Al12 under gravity condition. Their compressive properties and energy absorption behavior were investigated by quasi-static compression tests. The results showed that Mg17Al12/Al ordered structure composites exhibited distinctly different compressive

An urgent need is to reduce the flammability of polymers and manage their toxic thermal decomposition products. Although conventional halogenated, metallic and phosphorus-based flame retardants (FRs) proved effective, they are known to cause major damage to human health and the environment. Containing carbon nanomaterials as new flame retarding additives, polymer nanocomposites have displayed high

In this work, we analyse the results of the reported mechanical properties for a particular kind of continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composites (CFRTPC) manufactured by fused deposition modelling (FDM). A summary of reported mechanical properties available in Scopus and Web of Science databases as well as cross-references was gathered. Listed materials include a Nylon matrix reinforced with

Silicon carbide nanowires (SiCnws) were in-situ grown on boron nitride nanosheets (BNNS) to construct a novel kind of nest-like hetero-structured BNNS@SiCnws thermally conductive fillers from natural bamboo leaves and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) by means of ultrasonic impregnation, sol-gel followed by carbothermic reduction. Then, the thermally conductive & electrically insulating BNNS@SiCnws/epoxy

Tool coatings with a high coefficient of friction (COF) form a built-up edge between the tool and the piece of work when cutting titanium alloy, creating a high cutting temperature, decreased tool life, and lowing the cutting quality. TiAlN/WS self-lubricating composite coatings with high adhesion were prepared via the multilayer growth of WS with low COF and TiAlN with high wear resistance. The TiAlN/WS

Flexible and wearable strain sensors with multi-functionalities have aroused tremendous attention for various applications in disease diagnostics, environment detection and healthcare monitoring, etc. However, limited electromechanical performance and complicated fabrication process of strain sensors restrict their extensive applications in full-range stimuli monitoring. Herein, we fabricated flexible