Damping Augmentation of Epoxy Using Carbon Nanotubes

In nanotube-based polymeric composite structures it is anticipated that high damping can be achieved by taking advantage of the interfacial friction between the nanotubes and the polymer. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the structural damping characteristics of polymeric composites containing carbon nanotubes (CNT) of various kinds and amounts. The damping characteristics of the specimens with 0, 0.5, 1 and 1.5wt% nanotube contents were determined experimentally. Through comparing with neat resin specimens, the study showed that one can enhance damping by adding CNT fillers into epoxy. It is also shown that single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT)-based composites could achieve higher damping than composites with multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) fillers. Comparing the damping ratio of 0.5wt% MWCNT and functionalized MWCNT (MWCNT-COOH) specimens, the damping ratio of the 0.5wt% MWCNT-COOH specimen is higher because of the surface modification. Similarly, experiments showed that the maximum value of the damping ratio was obtained at 1wt%.