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Sun, Keun J.

Publications and source records attributed to Sun, Keun J..

7 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2009

Metal Decorated Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube/Polyimide Composites with High Dielectric Constants and Low Loss Factors

The measurement of observable electromagnetic phenomena in materials and their derived intrinsic electrical material properties are of prime importance in the discovery and development of material systems for electronic and aerospace applications. Nanocomposite materials comprised of metal decorated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were prepared by a facile method and characterized. Metal particles such as silver(Ag), platinum(Pt) and palladium(Pd) with diameters ranging from less than 5 to over 50 nanometers were distributed randomly on the MWCNTs. The present study is focused on silver decorated MWCNTs dispersed in a polyimide matrix. The Ag-containing MWCNTs were melt mixed into Ultem(TradeMark) and the mixture extruded as ribbons. The extruded ribbons exhibited a moderate to high degree of MWCNT alignment as determined by HRSEM. These ribbons were then fabricated into test specimens while maintaining MWCNT alignment and subsequently characterized for electrical and electromagnetic properties at 8-12 GHz. The results of the electromagnetic characterization showed that certain sample configurations exhibited a decoupling of the permittivity (epsilon ) and loss factor (epsilon") indicating that these properties could be tailored within certain limits. The decoupling and independent control of these fundamental electrical material parameters offers a new class of materials with potential applications in electronics, microwave engineering and optics.

Elliott, Holly A.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Magnetic Property Measurements on Single Wall Carbon Nanotube-Polyimide Composites

Temperature and magnetic field dependent magnetization measurements were performed on polyimide nanocomposite samples, synthesized with various weight percentages of single wall carbon nanotubes. It was found that the magnetization of the composite, normalized to the mass of nanotube material in the sample, decreased with increasing weight percentage of nanotubes. It is possible that the interfacial coupling between the carbon nanotube (CNT) fillers and the polyimide matrix promotes the diamagnetic response from CNTs and reduces the total magnetization of the composite. The coercivity of the samples, believed to originate from the residual magnetic catalyst particles, was enhanced and had a stronger temperature dependence as a result of the composite synthesis. These changes in magnetic properties can form the basis of a new approach to investigate the interfacial properties in the CNT nanocomposites through magnetic property measurements.

Sun, Keun J.↗
NASA NTRS2006

High Temperature Resin/Carbon Nanotube Composite Fabrication

For the purpose of incorporating multifunctionality into advanced composites, blends of phenylethynyl terminated imides-330 (PETI-330) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were prepared, characterized and fabricated into moldings. PETI-330/MWCNT mixtures were prepared at concentrations ranging from 3 to 25 weight percent by dry mixing the components in a ball mill. The resulting powders were characterized for degree of mixing, thermal and rheological properties. Based on the characterization results, PETI-330/MWCNT samples were scaled up to approximately 300 g and used to fabricate moldings by injecting the mixtures at 260-280 deg C into a stainless steel tool followed by curing for 1 h at 371 deg C. The tool was designed to impart a degree of shear during the injection process in an attempt to achieve some alignment of the MWCNTs in the flow direction. Obtained moldings were subsequently characterized for thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties. The degree of dispersion and alignment of MWCNTs were investigated using high-resolution scanning electron microscopy. The preparation and preliminary characterization of PETI-330/MWCNT composites will be discussed.

Ghose, Sayata↗
NASA NTRS1992

Application of guided acoustic waves to delamination detection

Guided plate waves are able to interact with structural flaws such as delaminations and cracks due to their propagation properties highly sensitive to the thickness change in materials. A technique which employs an acoustic damper to probe the results of this interaction and then to locate flaws in a relatively short period of time is developed. With its technical advantages, this technique shows its potential application to large area structural integrity assessment.

Sun, Keun J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Disbond Detection in Bonded Aluminum Joints Using Lamb Wave Amplitude and Time-of-Flight

In recent years, there was a need of developing efficient nondestructive integrity assessment techniques for large area laminate structures, such as detections of disbond, crack, and corrosion in fuselage of an aircraft. Together with the improving tomography and computer technologies, progress has been made in many fields in NDE towards a faster inspection. Ultrasonically, Lamb wave is considered to be a candidate for large area inspections based on its capability of propagating a relatively long distance in thin plates and its media-thickness-dependent propagation properties. Moreover, the occurence of disbonds, corrosion, and even cracks often results in reduction of effective thickness of a laminate. The idea is to assess the condition of a structure by sensing the response of propagating Lamb waves to these flaws over long path length. A series of tests in the sequence of disbond, corrosion, and crack have been done on various types of specimen to investigate the feasibility of this approach. This paper will present some of the test results for disbond detection on aluminum lap splice joints.

Sun, Keun J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Application of Guided Acoustic Waves to Delamination Detection

The occurrence of delamination in laminate structures is one of the major reliability concerns for using these materials. There are continuing needs for developing delamination inspection techniques to measure specimens of various material structure as well as to accommodate different test environments. In the case of disbond-detection in the skin of an aircraft, for some practical reasons, an efficient technique should be capable of inspecting a large surface area in a reasonably short amount of time and with a high degree of accuracy. While most existing measurements can provide satisfactory accuracy, the required high inspection rate may not be met. Thus, for assessment of large surface area with an ultrasonic technique, our approach is to generate sound waves of particular modes, which are capable of propagating in a relatively extended area on the surface of a plate and at meantime interrogating the structural integrity of the plate. It is well known in waveguide theory [1-3] that certain modes of sound waves are capable of propagating a relatively long distance in a material of plate configuration, and that their propagation properties are determined in part by the product of sound frequency and plate thickness. Recently, it was found experimentally that, with this thickness dependence, certain modes of these plate waves provided a different approach to probe the flaws in a laminate structure, and with potential application to the large area disbond and crack inspection.

Sun, Keun J.↗