A Study of Short Metal Fiber Reinforced Composite Materials
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A STUDY OF SHORT METAL FIBER REINFORCED COMPOSITE MATERIALS W. C. Chung Division of Technology, One Washington Square, University, San Jose, CA 95192-0061
San Jose State
ABSTRACT Over the years, the conventional involvement of short fiber reinforced composites in electrical applications has been as electrical insulation. Contrary to this approach, with the increasing need of better electromagnetic interference (EMI), radio-frequency interference (RFI) shielding and control of electrostatic charge distribution (ESD) for computer, defense, space exploration and some high-tech structural components, it is expected that the development of conductive polymeric composite materials will grow strongly and significantly. An experimental investigation is designed to systematically evaluate the mechanical properties and electrical properties of metal fiber reinforced composites subjected to various loading conditions. In this study, chopped Inconel 601 (nickel base) metal fiber with a fixed fiber aspect ratio (length/diameter ratio) is used to reinforce commercially available thermoset polyester resin. Mechanical testing of custom made samples, failure analyses using visual inspection, light microscopy and SEM are conducted to understand the fracture behaviors and possible failure causes in such composites. The feasibility of using metal fiber polymeric composites in structural/electrical applications is discussed in this paper. INTRODUCTION Polymers have been well known for their electrical insulating properties and great strides have been made in electrical and electronic applications, mainly related to electrical insulation. Consequently, research has been directed to improve the dielectric strength of polymers so that they can be used for better insulators. In the past few years, with the advent of electrically conductive polymers, their potential to perform as active roles in conducting electricity has been discovered and realized (ref. 1). Recent polymer researches have revealed that polymers can indeed conduct electricity as well as metals. Now the electrically conductive polymers can be used as antistatic coatings, fuel cell catalysts, solar electrical cells, photoelectrodes in a photogalvanic cell, protective coatings on electrodes in photoelectro-chemical cells, and as light weight, inexpensive batteries.
Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. Vol. 171. ©1990 Materials Research Society
380
Due to the increasing need of light weight, low cost, moldable, and high specific strength for defense and high-tech applications, it is expected that the development of electrically conductive polymeric materials will grow rapidly. It is understood that conductive plastic housings and molded parts can be beneficial to the controls of electromagnetic interference (EMI), radio-frequency interference (RFI) shielding and electrostatic charge discharge (ESD) distribution. Advanced research studies have shown that there are three possible methods to make polymers conductive. The first approach is to apply a thin conductive coating onto the m
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