Type of Document	Thesis
Author	Ugarte, Johnnattan Tennessee
Author's Email Address	jtu7407@fsu.edu
URN	etd-07092007-100740
Title	Development of Continuous Manufacturing Process for Magnetically Aligned and Random Nanotube Buckypapers
Degree	Master of Science
Department	Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Richard Liang Committee Chair Ben Wang Committee Member Chuck Zhang Committee Member James Brooks Committee Member Young-Bin Park Committee Member
Keywords	Single Wall Nanotubes Buckypaper Continuous Manufacturing SWNT Alignment
Date of Defense	2007-06-25
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract ABSTRACT Fiber-reinforced composites are becoming more popular due to their high strength to weight ratio, making them a suitable replacement for traditional metals for lightweight applications. However, for applications where electro-conductivity and thermo-conductivity are required, fiber-reinforced composites lack the necessary properties without adding parasitic components. As a result of extensive research, high performance carbon nanotube-reinforced composites are considered as one of the key solutions to this issue, with buckypapers serving as the central constituent. Buckypapers are thin membranes of well-dispersed networks of nanotubes held together by van der Waals forces. Buckypapers are considered as one of the promising candidates for incorporating nanotubes into composite manufacturing due to their ease of handling and the ability to transfer the properties of the nanotubes into the resultant composites. Buckypapers enable thermal and electro-conductivity in ranges not possible using fiber composites alone. The objective of this research is to develop an effective, affordable manufacturing process capable of continuously fabricating buckypaper materials to meet market demands, as well as property and quality requirements from the consumers. The batch method of buckypaper manufacturing processes have been investigated and standardized by previous studies. Successful results under the standardized process have been adopted to pilot buckypaper production. Such studies have also attracted the interest of industrial consumers who require large-scale manufacturing, and continuity of buckypaper materials, which are not offered by the current batch method. Through the development of four generations of prototypes, this research has successfully designed and fabricated the Nano Material Continual Integration System (NM-CIS), a filtration system capable of producing high quality continuous buckypaper materials. A prototype to produce continuous 1.5in wide buckypapers of randomly-dispersed SWNTs has been successfully developed. Furthermore, the research has characterized the physical and electrical properties and compared them with current batch-production buckypapers. The results indicate that the continuous manufacturing processes have the potential to scale-up production of continuous buckypaper products to achieve desired quality, continuity and affordability for potential industrial applications. Furthermore, the research has designed and fabricated the MA-CIS system to fabricate continuous magnetically aligned buckypaper materials, and the W-CIS system to produce 11-in wide-buckypaper
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