Institute for advanced learning and research FY09 earmark entitled, "polymer-nanocomposite laboratory for structured sensors research". Previous research conducted under NASA larc project NNL05AA29G…

Institute for advanced learning and research FY09 earmark entitled, "polymer-nanocomposite laboratory for structured sensors research". Previous research conducted under NASA larc project NNL05AA29G entitled "embedded passive radio frequency-based sensors for radial aircraft tire structural health monitoring" indicated that highly compliant, electrically conductive films could be formulated from tire tread rubber compound and mwcnts. Additionally, IT was found that these films when vulcanized within a larger tread rubber structure might act as strain sensing elements for engineering strains up to 100%. However, mwcnt orientation appeared to have a significant effect upon the strain-resistivity response of the conductive, vulcanized elastomeric film. Furthermore, IT was recognized that swcnts would provide greater conductivity, but also at a higher cost. Based upon these preliminary findings, a broader experimental effort is proposed to investigate the effect of the rheological mode of processing to assess the efficacy of film formation using the three processing techniques of (i) melt compounding followed by nonlubricated (mixed shear and extension in squeezing flow) and lubricated (biaxial extension) compression molding, (2) multilayer spin coating (shear), and (3) electrospinning (extension) followed by standard compression molding to form vulcanized, electrically conductive rubbersingle wall carbon nanotube (swcnt) nanocomposites films for in situ, high compliance sensor applications for elastomeric materials. Specifically, purified swcnts will be combined with tread rubber in cyclohexane solution in the presence of a surfactant and sonicated to exfoliate and disperse the swcnts in solution. This based solution will be applied in all three polymer processing modes to assess the effectiveness of each mode in achieving the lowest percolation threshold for electrical conductivity expression. Finally, the formed unvulcanized membranes will be inserted at the midplane of a tread rubber sandwich and vulcanized to evaluate and compare each tread rubber-swcnt nanocomposites membrane in a sensor application relative to its different polymer processing mode of fabrication.