0000000000365537
AUTHOR
Mario Fustaino
Testing the Dispersion of Nanoparticles in a Nanocomposite with an Ultra-Low Fill Content Using a Novel Non-Destructive Evaluation Technique
A non-destructive evaluation (NDE) technique capable of testing the dispersion of nanoparticles in a nanocomposite would be of great use to the industry to check the quality of the products made and to ensure compliance with their specifications. Very few NDE techniques found in the literature can evaluate the level of dispersion of the nanoparticles in the whole nanocomposite. Here, a recently developed NDE technique based on pulsed phase thermography (PPT) in transmission mode was used to assess the particle dispersion in ultra-low, less than 0.05 wt%, Ag enriched polymeric based nanocomposite manufactured with an innovative nano-coating fragmentation technique. The phasegrams obtained wi…
Carbon Nanotubes Dispersion Assessment in Nanocomposites by Means of a Pulsed Thermographic Approach
The extensive production of polymer composites reinforced by carbon nanotube is limited by the absence of non-destructive evaluation (NDE) methods capable of assessing product quality to guarantee compliance with specifications. It is well known that the level of dispersion of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the polymer matrix is the parameter that, much more than others, can influence their enhancement capabilities. Here an active Infrared Thermography Non Destructive Testing(IR-NDT) inspection, joined with pulsed phase thermography (PPT), were applied for the first time to epoxy-CNT composites to evaluate the level of dispersion of the nanoparticles. The PPT approach was tested on three groups…
Fine Alignment of Thermographic Images for Robotic Inspection of Parts with Complex Geometries
Increasing the efficiency of the quality control phase in industrial production lines through automation is a rapidly growing trend. In non-destructive testing, active thermography techniques are known for their suitability to allow rapid non-contact and full-field inspections. The robotic manipulation of the thermographic instrumentation enables the possibility of performing inspections of large components with complex geometries by collecting multiple thermographic images from optimal positions. The robotisation of the thermographic inspection is highly desirable to improve assessment speed and repeatability without compromising inspection accuracy. Although integrating a robotic setup fo…
NUOVA TECNICA DI VALUTAZIONE NON DISTRUTTIVA PER LA STIMA DELLA DISPERSIONE DEI NANOTUBI DI CARBONIO NEI NANOCOMPOSITI
La ricerca effettuata durante il dottorato di ricerca, che ha portato alla stesura della presente tesi, è nata dall’esigenza per il mondo dell’industria di disporre di una tecnica semplice, di rapida applicazione e con costi contenuti per la valutazione del livello di dispersione delle nanoparticelle nei materiali nanocompositi a matrice polimerica, la cui diffusione è in incremento negli ultimi anni. Partendo dallo studio del transitorio termico di campioni con livello di dispersione noto, si è cercata una correlazione tra il transitorio termico di raffreddamento di un campione con buon livello di dispersione e quello di un campione con livello di dispersione scarso quando entrambi sono so…
Hybrid nanocomposites with ultra-low filling content by nano-coating fragmentation
In the current study, a new technique for the manufacturing of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) with ultra-low filling content (<0.05 wt%) is presented. Specifically, this method has been validated through the production of polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites with Ag nanoparticles. The presented method first consisted in a metal nano-film deposition on PP pellet substrates by a physical vapor deposition (PVD) sputtering equipment. Subsequently, a percentage of the coated pellet was mixed to uncoated ones via an injection molding machine to produce the PNC in a single step. Different mixing percentages of coated PP pellet to the uncoated ones were studied. As a result, the fragmentation of the…