Measurement of mechanical property and thermal expansion coefficient of carbon-nanotube-reinforced epoxy composites

By using shear mixing and ultrasonication, we fabricated specimens of well-dispersed multi-walled carbon nanotube composites. To confirm the proper dispersion of the filler, we used scanning electron microscopy images for quantitative evaluation and a tensile test for qualitative assessment. Furthermore, the coefficients of thermal expansion of several specimens having different filler contents were calculated from the measured thermal strains and temperatures of the specimens. Based on the microscopy images of the well-dispersed fillers and the small deviations in the measurements of the tensile strength and stiffness, we confirmed the proper dispersion of nanotubes in the epoxy. As the filler contents were increased, the values of tensile strength increased from 58.33 to 68.81 MPa, and those of stiffness increased from 2.93 to 3.27 GPa. At the same time, the coefficients of thermal expansion decreased. This implies better thermal stability of the specimen.