Health is wealthNanostitching
The future of the flight seems safe, with engineers using carbon nanotubes only billionths of the meter thick to stitch together aerospace materials in work could make airplane skins and other products some 10 times stronger at a nominal increase in cost. Advanced composites reinforced with nanotubes will have greater protection against damage from lightning.
The advanced materials currently used in aircraft are composed of layers, or piles of carbon fibers that are in turn held together by glue. The glue can crack and otherwise result in the carbon fiber piles coming apart.
The new polymer glue between two carbon fiber layers is heated. Becoming more liquid-like. Billions of nanotubes positioned perpendicular to each carbon fiber layer is then sucked up into the glue on both sides of each layers. Because the nanotubes are 1000 times smaller than the carbon fibers, they don’t affect the much larger carbon fibers. They fill the spaces around them stitching the layers together.
The advanced materials currently used in aircraft are composed of layers, or piles of carbon fibers that are in turn held together by glue. The glue can crack and otherwise result in the carbon fiber piles coming apart.
The new polymer glue between two carbon fiber layers is heated. Becoming more liquid-like. Billions of nanotubes positioned perpendicular to each carbon fiber layer is then sucked up into the glue on both sides of each layers. Because the nanotubes are 1000 times smaller than the carbon fibers, they don’t affect the much larger carbon fibers. They fill the spaces around them stitching the layers together.
