Effect of multiwalled carbon nanotube alignment on the tensile fatigue behavior of nanocomposites

The one-dimensional structure of carbon nanotubes makes them highly anisotropic, making them to possess unusual mechanical properties, and hence employed as promising nanofiller for the composite structures. However, various carbon nanotube properties are not completely utilized when they are used as reinforcement in composites due to inadequate and immature processing techniques. In the present work, an attempt has been made to utilize the strong anisotropic nature of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) for improving the fatigue life of nanocomposites only by considering a very low weight percentage (<0.5wt%). The anisotropy of MWCNTs was imparted into the nanocomposites by aligning them in the epoxy matrix with DC electric field during composite curing. Nanocomposites were made for three MWCNT loadings (0.1, 0.2, and 0.3wt%). The tensile fatigue behavior was investigated under stress control by applying cyclic sinusoidal load with the frequency range of 1-3Hz and stress ratio, R=0.1. The specimens were tested for the fatigue load until the failure or 1E+05 cycles. The fractured surfaces were examined through scanning electron microscope to analyze the fatigue fracture behavior. A small weight percentage of MWCNT loading (0.2wt%) into the polymer composite has enhanced on an average 13% to 15% fatigue life, which is encouraging to develop the low cost, improved fatigue life composite structures. Also, the energy dissipation mechanism in MWCNT dispersed nanocomposites has shown a reduced crack propagation rate.