Simultaneously improved solid particle erosion resistant and strength of graphene nanoplates/carbon nanotube enhanced thermoplastic polyurethane films

Up to now, it is a major challenge to protect leading edge of the blades from solid particle erosion. Herein, we propose a structure optimization strategy to fabricate non-woven (NW) enhanced thermoplastic polyurethane nanocomposite films (thermoplastic polyurethane [TPU]-NW@G/C-x) with sandwich-like structure by hot pressing technology. TPU NW/graphene nanoplates/carbon nanotube (NW@G/C-x) interlayer film were first fabricated by spraying method. Then the interlayer film was laminated between TPU films to fabricate nanocomposite films. Such prepared TPU-NW@G/C-x film shows excellent solid particle erosion resistance and high-tensile strength. For example, the steel-and-mortar structure of NW fabric in TPU film results in high-tensile strength of 45 MPa and storage modulus of 21.2 MPa for TPU-NW@G/C-1.0, increasing by 25% and 171% compared with original TPU film (35 MPa, 8 MPa), respectively. In addition, compared with pure TPU film, the sandwich-like structure endows TPU-NW@G/C-1.2 with excellent solid particle erosion resistance and the thermal conductivity (0.251 W/m center dot K). These superior properties extends application of the TPU-NW@G/C-x film on wind turbine blades.

Automated summary

A structure optimization strategy was proposed to fabricate non-woven enhanced thermoplastic polyurethane nanocomposite films with a sandwich-like structure. The prepared films showed excellent solid particle erosion resistance, high-tensile strength, and increased thermal conductivity, extending their application on wind turbine blades.