Printed Single-Wall Carbon Nanotube-Based Joule Heating Devices Integrated as Functional Laminae in Advanced Composites

George Karalis; Lazaros Tzounis; Evangelos Dimos; Christos K Mytafides; Marco Liebscher; Andreas Karydis-Messinis; Nikolaos E Zafeiropoulos; Alkiviadis S Paipetis

doi:10.1021/acsami.1c10001

Printed Single-Wall Carbon Nanotube-Based Joule Heating Devices Integrated as Functional Laminae in Advanced Composites

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2021 Aug 25;13(33):39880-39893. doi: 10.1021/acsami.1c10001. Epub 2021 Aug 11.

Authors

George Karalis¹, Lazaros Tzounis¹, Evangelos Dimos¹, Christos K Mytafides¹, Marco Liebscher², Andreas Karydis-Messinis¹, Nikolaos E Zafeiropoulos¹, Alkiviadis S Paipetis¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Ioannina, Ioannina GR-45110, Greece.
² Institute of Construction Materials, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden DE-01062, Germany.

PMID: 34378907
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c10001

Abstract

This work reports the design and fabrication of novel printed single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) electrothermal Joule heating devices. The devices are directly deposited on unidirectional (UD) glass fiber (GF) fabrics. The GF-SWCNT Joule heaters were integrated during manufacturing as "system" plies in carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite laminates. Specific secondary functions were imparted on the composite laminate endowing thus a multifunctional character. The efficient out-of-oven curing (OOC) of a CFRP laminate was demonstrated using a sandwich configuration comprising top/bottom GF-SWCNT system plies. A total power consumption of ca. 10.5 kWh for the efficient polymerization of the thermoset matrix was required. Infrared thermography (IR-T) monitoring showed a uniform and stable temperature field before and after impregnation with epoxy resin. Quasi-static three-point bending and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) revealed a minor knock-down effect of the OOC-CFRP laminates properties compared to oven cured CFRPs, whereas the glass transition temperature (T_g) was almost identical. The OOC-CFRP laminates were efficient in providing additional functions such as deicing and self-sensing that are highly sought in the energy and transport sectors, i.e., wind turbine blades or aircraft wings. The novel modular design provides unique opportunities for large-area applications via multiple interconnected arrays of printed devices.

Keywords: SWCNT; advanced FRP laminates; deicing; electrothermal-Joule heating effect; multifunctional composites; out-of-oven curing (OOC); printed heater; smart materials.