Optimizing electrophoretic deposition conditions for enhancement in electrical conductivity of carbon fiber/carbon nanotube/epoxy hybrid composites

Abstract

The effectiveness of optimizing electrical conductivity of carbon fiber/carbon nanotube (CNT)/epoxy hybrid composites via Taguchi method was demonstrated. CNTs were induced on carbon fabric by electrophoretic deposition (EPD) technique. The essential deposition parameters were identified as 1) the deposition time, 2) the deposition voltage, 3) the mass fraction of CNTs in suspension, and 4) the distance between the electrodes. An experimental design was then performed to establish the appropriate levels for each factor. An orthogonal array of L₉ (3⁴) was designed to conduct the experiments. Electrical conductivity results were collected as the response. The relative influences of design parameters on the response were discussed. Using the model, signal to noise (S/N) ratio and response characteristics for the optimized deposition parameter combination were predicted. The results show clearly that the optimum condition of electrophoretic deposition (EPD) process improves the electrical conductivity of carbon/epoxy hybrid composites.

Keywords

design of experiment / electrophoretic deposition / carbon nanotube / Taguchi method / signal to noise (S/N) ratio / analysis of variance (ANOVA)

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