Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Lacy, Thomas E.

Committee Member

Toghiani, Hossein

Committee Member

Pittman, Charles U., Jr.

Committee Member

DuBien, Janice

Committee Member

Sullivan, Rani W.

Date of Degree

12-9-2011

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Aerospace Engineering

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

James Worth Bagley College of Engineering

Department

Department of Aerospace Engineering

Abstract

A design of experiments methodology was used to investigate the effect of vaporgrown carbon nanofiber (VGCNF) weight fraction, high-shear mixing time, and ultrasonication time on the Izod impact strength of vinyl ester (VE) based nanocomposites. A response surface model (RSM) was developed for predicting impact strengths using a regression analysis approach. The RSM predicts a maximum increase in impact strength of 18% at a VGCNF weight fraction of 0.17 parts per hundred parts resin (phr) (a volume percent of ~0.1) and 100 min high-shear mixing when compared to that of neat VE. The impact strength predictions show an initial increase for low VGCNF weight fractions and extended high-shear mixing. However, a marked decrease in impact strength occurred as the VGCNF weight fraction increased above 0.45 phr. Scanning electron micrographs of the fracture surface of several specimens suggest that the impact strength of VGCNF/VE nanocomposites is directly related to nanofiber dispersion.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/21284

Comments

polymer-matrix composites||mechanical properties||statistical properties/methods||mechanical testing

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