Data-driven analysis of temperature effects on interfacial bonding of carbon nanotube yarn composites

Understanding nanocomposite interfacial bonding under environmental conditions will lead to game-changing material applications in energy, aerospace, electronics, and infrastructure applications. Carbon nanotube (CNT) yarns with high-temperature toughened matrices are candidates to be used in aircraft and space components. While operating, these components are exposed to severe temperatures, which alter their performance due to changes near the interfacial area. The present work intends to demonstrate the importance of statistical and data-driven approaches to quantify and further understand the interfacial behavior between inclusion and matrices. The relationship between temperature, strain rate, and polymer matrices on the interfacial shear strength (IFSS) of CNT nanocomposites was studied. The fiber bundle pull-out method was performed on miniature samples to thoroughly study nano-interfaces at a broad temperature range and at different testing speeds. Statistical analysis showed that temperature is highly significant and affects the IFSS, independent of matrix, and strain rate. In addition, the interaction between matrix and temperature and the interaction between all three factors also appeared to be significant. It was observed that IFSS exhibits non-linear behavior as a function of temperature. The data was modeled using regression splines for each substrate material, and all showed that IFSS is a decreasing function of temperature. Moreover, the energy needed to debond the CNT from polymer matrices is reduced by more than 60% between temperature extremes.