The effects of noncovalent bonding and mechanical interlocking of carbon nanotubes (CNT) coating on tensile and interfacial\nstrength of glass fiber were investigated. CNT were coated over glass fiber by a simple dip coating method. Acid treated CNT were\nsuspended in isopropanol solution containing Nafion as binding agent. To achieve uniform distribution of CNT over the glass fiber,\nan optimized dispersion process was developed by two parameters: CNT concentration and soaking time. CNT concentration was\nvaried from 0.4 to 2mg/mL and soaking time was varied from 1 to 180 min. The provided micrographs demonstrated appropriate\ncoating of CNT on glass fiber by use of CNT-Nafion mixture. The effects of CNT concentration and soaking time on coating\nlayer were studied by performing single fiber tensile test and pull-out test. The obtained results showed that the optimum CNT\nconcentration and soaking time were 1mg/mL and 60 min, respectively, which led to significant improvement of tensile strength\nand interfacial shear stress. It was found that, at other concentrations and soaking times, CNT agglomeration or acutely curly tubes\nappeared over the fiber surface which caused a reduction of nanotubes interaction on the glass fiber.
Loading....