Statistical Analysis of Effects of Test Methods on Spun Carbon Nanotube Yarn

Carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers are very promising materials for many applications. Strong interactions among individual CNTs could produce a dense yarn results in exceptional properties. These properties are used in the application of high-performance reinforcement for composites. As the reinforcement, the primary function is to provide outstanding load bearing capability. Currently literatures use a variety of measurement techniques and gauge lengths that have not been uniform for CNT yarn tests. The need for a standardized testing method for characterization is necessary in generating reproducible and comparable data for CNT yarn or fiber materials. In this work, the strength of CNT fibers was characterized using three different types of tensile test method: the film and fiber test fixtures from dynamics mechanic analysis (DMA), and TS 600 tensile fixture. Samples that underwent the film and TS 600 tensile fixture were attached with a thick paper tabbing methodology based on ASTM standard D3379. As for the fiber fixture was performed with the test material attached directly to the fixture based on the fiber test instruction from TA Instrument. The results of the three different methods provided distinct variance in stress, strain, and modulus. A design of experiment (DoE) was established and performed on the DMA film fixture as determined from the preliminary experiment. The DoE was successful in quantifying the critical parameters' ranges that attributed to standard deviation of average stress. These parameters were then tested on 30 more samples with an improved additive manufactured tab. The results significantly decreased all mechanical testing parameters' standard deviations. Most importantly, the results prove the probability of a valid gauge break increased to more than 400%.