Multifunctional nanopaper for wear and conductive applications

Fiber reinforced polymer composites are used in a wide variety of applications such as aerospace, military and defense, and wind energy production. These composites form structural components on aircraft fuselage and wings as well as control surfaces, helicopter rotors, and wind turbine blades. These applications expose the material to solid particle erosion damage which can reduce the performance of the material as well as shorten the materials lifespan. In this study, a novel method of fabricating nanoparticle thin films or nanopapers for use as a surface protective layer for fiber reinforced polymer composites was developed. Inclusion of these nanopapers through current manufacturing methods has shown increases in solid particle erosion protection of up to 7x. The nanopapers have also shown to increase surface electrical conductivity by as much as 16 orders of magnitude.