Carbon fiber composites offer outstanding structural performance with high specific strength and are experiencingsignificant commercial adoption as the fiber price continues to decrease. Composite research efforts now need to focuson creating multifunctional composites, which can offer sensing capabilities in addition to structural attributes. Thiswork focuses on creating multifunctional carbon fiber composites with structural health monitoring capabilities throughthe integration of piezoresistive nanoparticles on the surface of carbon fiber. Prior research introduced the developmentof coating silicon carbide nanoparticles on the surface of carbon fiber in a continuous feed-through process to achieveincreased SHM sensitivity with enhanced interlaminar strength and tunable mechanical damping properties. One benefitof that coating process is the compatibility with various nanomaterials. This research capitalizes on that benefit bycoating different nanoparticles, such as titanium dioxide, on carbon fiber to further enhance the sensing capabilities. Amodification to the prior coating process is made in this research to enable significantly higher nanoparticle loading to beachieved. The resulting composites more accurately measure an applied force by responding with a more profoundelectrical resistance change. This research lays the foundation for efficiently integrating nanoparticles onto fibers leadingto homogenously dispersed nanoparticles throughout a fiber reinforced composite for multifunctional performance.
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