Abrasion Effect on Heating Performance of Carbon Nanotube/Epoxy Composites

Abstract

The effects of abrasion on the heating performance of carbon nanotube (CNT)/epoxy composites were investigated in terms of Joule's heat, convective heat, and radiative heat under moderate-to-severe and localized abrasive conditions. While the overall heating behavior was characterized by the heating rate and the curvature of the transient response, a numerical solution of the heat equation was used to quantify convective and radiative heat transfers, incorporating the specific heat of each component, the convective heat transfer coefficient, and the Biot number. CNT reinforcement significantly improved wear resistance at a CNT concentration of 0.31 vol. %, but the presence of micro-voids led to a slight increase in wear rate with additional CNT inclusion. Using an equivalent circuit model, local and severe abrasion scenarios were analyzed to determine the variation in electrical conductivity with temperature at different degrees of abrasion, indicating the impact of scattering effects. This analysis provides valuable insights for estimating both wear resistance and the heating performance of self-heated surface materials, with potential applications in future space technologies.