Yongchao Zhang , Jun Xie , Xiaofan Gou , Qi Cai , Jun Cai
{"title":"Surface-effect-informed design strategy for nano-architected auxetic metamaterials: Simultaneous achievement of auxeticity and stiffness enhancement by structural anisotropy","authors":"Yongchao Zhang , Jun Xie , Xiaofan Gou , Qi Cai , Jun Cai","doi":"10.1016/j.compscitech.2025.111352","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compscitech.2025.111352","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nano-auxetic metamaterials have attracted significant research interest due to their unique deformation behavior. However, the inherent trade-off between stiffness and auxetic properties substantially limits their potential applications. We developed a novel nanosurface element to quantitatively assess the influence of surface effects on both Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio in nano-auxetic metamaterials. Furthermore, we introduced pore rotation angle and aspect ratio anisotropic design strategies to simultaneously enhance material stiffness and auxetic performance. The results demonstrate that surface effects effectively enhance the negative Poisson's ratio of nano-auxetic metamaterials, while their influence on Young's modulus exhibits significant dependence on pore aspect ratio. The pore rotation angles strategy increases the Young's modulus of nanomaterials, albeit at the expense of compromised auxetic performance. In contrast, increasing the maximum random pore aspect ratio strategy simultaneously improves both Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio in these nanostructured materials. Surface effects not only amplify the anisotropy-induced enhancement of Young's modulus but also improve the auxetic properties of the material. These findings establish a theoretical foundation for the optimized design of nano-auxetic metamaterials.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":283,"journal":{"name":"Composites Science and Technology","volume":"271 ","pages":"Article 111352"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144892883","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mixed-mode I+II fracture behaviour of thermoplastic composites and their adhesive bonded joints","authors":"J.P. Reis , M.F.S.F. de Moura","doi":"10.1016/j.compscitech.2025.111349","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compscitech.2025.111349","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this work, a comprehensive experimental and numerical investigation of the fracture behaviour of carbon fibre-reinforced polyamide 6 thermoplastic composite materials is presented, considering both bulk laminates and adhesive bonded joints under pure and mixed-mode I + II loading conditions. Five fracture test configurations were employed allowing broad coverage of the <em>G</em><sub>I</sub>–<em>G</em><sub>II</sub> space. Due to the low surface energy of thermoplastic composites, an optimized two-part acrylic adhesive (3M™ DP8805 NS) was chosen to improve bonding performance. To address unstable crack propagation beyond the loading point observed in some tests, an extended version of the Compliance-Based Beam Method (CBBM) was developed. A finite element model incorporating cohesive zone modelling (CZM) with a trapezoidal law was used for validation procedure. The obtained fracture envelopes revealed that while bulk laminates maintain nearly constant toughness across the entire mode mixity range, bonded joints exhibit strong degradation under mode I influence.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":283,"journal":{"name":"Composites Science and Technology","volume":"271 ","pages":"Article 111349"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144921170","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jiashuai Yao , Wenju Wu , Chenchen Tian , Yingjie Jiang , Yuhao Wang , Xing Gao , Nanying Ning , Ming Tian
{"title":"Non-steady-state electrical properties in dielectric elastomer nanocomposites during cyclic stretching and the underlying mechanism","authors":"Jiashuai Yao , Wenju Wu , Chenchen Tian , Yingjie Jiang , Yuhao Wang , Xing Gao , Nanying Ning , Ming Tian","doi":"10.1016/j.compscitech.2025.111350","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compscitech.2025.111350","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Dielectric elastomer generator (DEG) with the advantages of lightweight, flexible structure and excellent energy harvesting abilities, can supply electrical energy to portable electronic devices. Sustained high performance of DEGs requires dielectric elastomer (DE) nanocomposites to retain superior electrical properties—high insulation, breakdown strength, and dielectric constant—during dynamic stretching cycles. Nevertheless, the non-steady-state electrical properties (NEP) of DE composites under dynamic cyclic stretching, critical for long-term performance, remain insufficiently explored. Here, NEP of nanosilicon dioxide/butadiene rubber (SiO<sub>2</sub>/BR) composites under cyclic stretching is characterized, revealing a distinct evolution mechanism: initial cycles induce interfacial molecular chains to reorient from a surface-lying state to one perpendicular to SiO<sub>2</sub> surfaces, enhancing insulation and breakdown strength via a 3.7-fold increase in interfacial thickness and modulus (from 4.44 MPa to 8.93 MPa). Within 60,000 initial cycles, these changes significantly boost insulation and breakdown strength. However, as fatigue accumulates, crosslink network breakage increases microdamage and chain mobility, reversing these trends and reducing insulation and breakdown strength. Integrating infrared dichroism, atomic force microscopy with quantitative nanomechanical mapping (AFM-QNM), and broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS), this work establishes correlations between microstructure and NEP under dynamic conditions, advancing understanding beyond static or single-parameter studies. It provides guidance for fabricating DE composites with high energy harvesting performance and long fatigue life.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":283,"journal":{"name":"Composites Science and Technology","volume":"271 ","pages":"Article 111350"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144890986","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zhongxin Dong, Shengdao Wang, Siyu Zhong, Yanchao Yang, Guibin Wang
{"title":"The improved interfacial property and solvent resistance of PEEK/GF composites by crystalline PEEK sizing agent","authors":"Zhongxin Dong, Shengdao Wang, Siyu Zhong, Yanchao Yang, Guibin Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.compscitech.2025.111348","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compscitech.2025.111348","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The sizing agents of glass fiber are usually epoxy and silane coupling agents, which can't withstand the processing molding temperature of PEEK resin matrix so the interfacial interaction of PEEK matrix and glass fiber is weak. In this work, PEEK polymers with disulfide bonds, which could be converted PEEK structure in mild condition, were synthesized and used as sizing agent of glass fiber to improve the interfacial properties of the glass fiber reinforced poly ether ether ketone (PEEK/GF) composites. The results showed that the interlaminar shear strength increased from 50.96 MPa of unsized GF reinforced PEEK composites (PEEK/UGF) to 93.22 MPa of sized GF reinforced PEEK composites (PEEK/SGF), with an increase of 82.93 %; Due to the improved interfacial properties of the PEEK matrix and GF, the bending strength and modulus of the PEEK/GF composite were increased from 701.30 MPa to 40.34 GPa for PEEK/UGF to 1398.40 MPa and 50.33 GPa for PEEK/SGF, an increase of 99.02 % and 24.76 %, respectively. The mechanism of interfacial enhancement was discussed through the analysis of cross-section morphology. In addition, PEEK sizing agent also had good solvent resistance, which hindered the erosion of organic solvents and the performance retention rate of the composite's ILSS remained above 80 % after PEEK/SGF composites were treated in high temperature organic solvents.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":283,"journal":{"name":"Composites Science and Technology","volume":"271 ","pages":"Article 111348"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144863308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zhaobin Li , Yu Gong , Yuting Gao , Wenjuan Lin , Jianyu Zhang , Libin Zhao , Ning Hu
{"title":"Mode III delamination characterization for composite laminates: an improved size-independent data reduction method for edge ring crack torsion test","authors":"Zhaobin Li , Yu Gong , Yuting Gao , Wenjuan Lin , Jianyu Zhang , Libin Zhao , Ning Hu","doi":"10.1016/j.compscitech.2025.111346","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compscitech.2025.111346","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The development of test standards for mode III delamination remains challenging due to the critical sensitivity of mode III interlaminar fracture toughness (<em>G</em><sub>IIIC</sub>) to initial crack length. Meanwhile, the edge ring crack torsion (ERCT) test has attracted significant attention due to its unique advantage in pure mode III condition. However, the original data reduction method suffers from a dimensional mismatch between the analytical model and specimen geometry. This paper proposes an improved data reduction method based on stress intensity factor (SIF) evaluation derived from extended finite element method (XFEM), establishing a simplified semi-analytical expression for <em>G</em><sub>IIIC</sub> of ERCT test. Specimens with different thicknesses and initial crack lengths show size-independent <em>G</em><sub>IIIC</sub> values when using the improved method. Moreover, the mode III failure mechanism is further analyzed. The internal delamination shapes enclosed by the delamination front reveal a uniform delamination growth path. Microscopic analysis indicates a serrated morphology in the interlaminar resin fracture. Overall, this study establishes an effective method for determining <em>G</em><sub>IIIC</sub>, as well as provides a deeper mechanistic understanding of the mode III delamination behavior associated with crack nucleation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":283,"journal":{"name":"Composites Science and Technology","volume":"271 ","pages":"Article 111346"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144908312","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Integrated BN@ZnO/cellulose acetate composite films with enhanced thermal conductivity and daytime passive radiative cooling","authors":"Chuanyang Jiang, Yuchang Qing, Junjie Yang, Yaru Cao, Yuhan Liu, Yong Zhang, Rui Feng","doi":"10.1016/j.compscitech.2025.111347","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compscitech.2025.111347","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although the utilization of radiant cooling technology achieves a cooling effect in sunlight, it is hardly able to alleviate the heat inside electronic devices operating in outdoor environments, and even leads to an increase in temperature due to its inherent low thermal conductivity. Here, we developed a novel high thermal conductivity radiant cooling film BN@ZnO/cellulose acetate, which was achieved by employing a composite filler strategy to construct thermal conduction pathways on optical scatterers. The BN@ZnO fillers, synthesized by in situ deposition, construct a micron/nano hierarchical structure conducive to Mie scattering, resulting in a solar spectral reflectance of 93.3 %. Meanwhile, the hierarchical structure that ZnO nanorods bridging the BN micron sheet significantly enhanced the in-plane (3.5 W/(m·K)) and through-plane (1.2 W/(m·K)) thermal conductivity of the composite film. In the hot midday, the BN@ZnO/cellulose acetate composite film achieves a sub-ambient cooling performance of 4.1 °C. More importantly, the high thermal conductivity of the film significantly facilitates the efficient utilization of the cold source. The BN@ZnO/cellulose acetate film achieves a practical cooling of 6.3 °C for the outdoor operating equipment with internal heat sources, while the low thermal conductivity traditional porous cellulose acetate film with advanced radiative cooling performance shows an effect of only 0.4 °C. This work provides a novel approach to the design of highly thermally conductive radiant cooling materials and offers significant implications for reducing energy consumption, improving operational reliability and extending service life of outdoor equipment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":283,"journal":{"name":"Composites Science and Technology","volume":"271 ","pages":"Article 111347"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144858252","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ricardo Braga Nogueira Branco , Jackson Schwarz , Thomas N. Barkauskas , Charles E. Bakis , Namiko Yamamoto
{"title":"Insertion of aligned CNTs into the intralaminar regions of conventional prepreg-based CFRP laminates using magnetically responsive CNTs","authors":"Ricardo Braga Nogueira Branco , Jackson Schwarz , Thomas N. Barkauskas , Charles E. Bakis , Namiko Yamamoto","doi":"10.1016/j.compscitech.2025.111345","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compscitech.2025.111345","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs) are widely used in aerospace, automotive, and energy industries due to their excellent in-plane mechanical properties, they exhibit relatively weak out-of-plane properties. Current methods of improving the out-of-plane properties with CNTs are limited to adding random or aligned CNTs between conventional CFRP plies or integrating randomly oriented CNTs throughout the entire CFRP volume using prepregs made with CNT/resin mixtures. Even in such manufacturing approaches, methods of quantitatively characterizing CNT morphology (concentration, alignment, distribution, etc.) in CFRPs are lacking. This work addresses both limitations by using magnetically responsive Ni-coated CNTs. The Ni-coated CNTs were inserted, with through-thickness alignment, into conventional CFRP prepregs by applying external magnetic fields during manufacturing. Aligned CNTs were observed in regions of the prepreg 10s of microns away from the prepreg interface, where the Ni-CNTs were originally inserted. The Ni-coated CNTs within laminates were confirmed to be aligned based on anisotropic saturation magnetization 34 % larger in the out-of-plane direction versus the in-plane direction, as measured with a vibrating sample magnetometer. In short beam shear testing, the CNT-CFRPs exhibited a more ductile post-peak behavior in comparison to the same CFRP without CNTs. The ratio of the post-peak work to total work in the aligned CNT-CFRPs was ∼30 % larger than in the same CFRP with unaligned CNTs and ∼250 % larger than in the same CFRP without CNTs, confirming the beneficial effect of aligned CNTs in resisting interlaminar crack growth.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":283,"journal":{"name":"Composites Science and Technology","volume":"271 ","pages":"Article 111345"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144863439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shikun Li , Xiaojing Wu , Hengyang Liu , Hongzhen Wang , Zaifeng Li
{"title":"Dual-fillers synergistic strategy for highly efficient anti-aging HNBR composite","authors":"Shikun Li , Xiaojing Wu , Hengyang Liu , Hongzhen Wang , Zaifeng Li","doi":"10.1016/j.compscitech.2025.111342","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compscitech.2025.111342","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As critical components in oil drilling systems, the longevity of rubber seals for packer plays key role in operational safety and production efficiency in hydrocarbon extraction operations. Herein, this study comprehensively investigates the synergistic effects of bio-silicon carbon (SiCB) and hydroxide zinc monomethacrylate (HZMMA) as reinforcing fillers on the mechanical properties, aging resistance, and thermal stability of hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber (HNBR) composites. The potential free radical scavenging capacity and structural characteristics of SiCB were characterized, while the vulcanization reinforcement characteristics and capture of radical mechanism for HZMMA were verified and evaluated through morphological and structural analyses. The mixture reinforcing fillers incorporating SiCB to HZMMA of 20:30 showed significant synergistic effect on the mechanical and thermal oxygen ageing properties of HNBR composites. Before and after thermal-oxidative aging, the retention of elongation at break in HNBR composites increased substantially from 11.4 % to 45 % in 30 days later at 150 °C. As expected, the minimal variations in both glass transition temperature (<em>T</em><sub><em>g</em></sub>) and crosslinking density during aging for the HNBR/SiCB/HZMMA composites were measured. Moreover, the improvement of the thermal stability for HNBR composites were confirmed by TG. This study provides novel insights and valuable references for developing the high-performance, long-service-life HNBR sealing materials in oil drilling operations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":283,"journal":{"name":"Composites Science and Technology","volume":"271 ","pages":"Article 111342"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144852490","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Qinghao He , Yuan Chen , Lin Ye , Jiazhi Su , Wenlei Xiong , Rujing Shi
{"title":"Mechanistic modelling of fused filament fabrication process for carbon fibre reinforced composites","authors":"Qinghao He , Yuan Chen , Lin Ye , Jiazhi Su , Wenlei Xiong , Rujing Shi","doi":"10.1016/j.compscitech.2025.111343","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compscitech.2025.111343","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study develops a mechanistic model aided by a 3D dynamometer to achieve <em>in</em>-<em>process</em> characterisation of three-dimensional forces during a fused filament fabrication (FFF) process, enabling a deeper insight to the FFF process for carbon fibre reinforced composites. First, a 3D printing system integrated with a dynamometer of high precision was developed to measure the three-dimensional loads during the fabrication of both short carbon fibre (SCF) and continuous carbon fibre (CCF) reinforced polyamide (PA6) with the FFF process. Then, both microstructural and mechanistic studies addressing the intimate contact and autohesion mechanisms during the FFF processes were conducted to explore the process-structure relationships of the printed composites. The results show that the compacting force of SCF/PA6 is much smaller than that of CCF/PA6 during the deposition. A compressive pressure of 1 MPa from the printing nozzle at a nozzle temperature of 252 °C and a deposition speed of 15 mm/s proves just sufficient for achieving complete intimate contact in the CCF/PA6 composite by the analysis of the mechanistic model. Microstructural characterisations of 3D printed CCF/PA6 composites also reveal a difference in the compacting force recorded in printing adjacent filaments associated with inaccurate positioning of printing paths, leading to poor fusion quality and existence of voids. Further, the effects of reduced nozzle height on the resultant deposition pressure and the printing quality of CCF/PA6 composites were also investigated in this study.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":283,"journal":{"name":"Composites Science and Technology","volume":"271 ","pages":"Article 111343"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144887309","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Liquan Jiang , Chi Zhang , Junzhe Jin , Kunkun Zhu , Yang Liu , Weilin Xu , Hao Yu
{"title":"Crosslinker-enhanced epoxy resin improves torsional resistance of carbon fiber braided tubes: multiscale analysis of failure mechanisms","authors":"Liquan Jiang , Chi Zhang , Junzhe Jin , Kunkun Zhu , Yang Liu , Weilin Xu , Hao Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.compscitech.2025.111339","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compscitech.2025.111339","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines torsional failure mechanisms in braided carbon fiber epoxy tubes incorporating crosslinker modified matrices. Three epoxy formulations were tested: non crosslinked resin, resin containing 10 wt% DDS crosslinker, and resin containing 20 wt% DDS. Specimens were fabricated using vacuum assisted resin infusion molding. Torsion testing demonstrated that DDS addition increased stiffness by 19.8 % and peak torque by 42.1 % versus non crosslinked systems, though higher DDS content reduced failure strain. A multiscale finite element model integrating yarn homogenization and cohesive zone interfaces achieved over 95 % experimental correlation. Progressive damage analysis revealed three sequential failure stages: initial resin cracking at yarn intersections, subsequent interfacial debonding from stress mismatch, and ultimate yarn fracture. The 10 wt% percent DDS formulation optimized strength stiffness toughness balance, while stress concentrations at yarn crossovers with local enhancement factors of 1.8–2.2 were identified as critical failure initiation sites. These results confirm that crosslinker enhanced interfaces significantly improve torsional resistance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":283,"journal":{"name":"Composites Science and Technology","volume":"271 ","pages":"Article 111339"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144863438","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}