Influence of Carbon Nanotubes on Stability and Vibration Characteristics of Plates and Panels in Thermal Environment: A Review

Abstract

Laminated composites became a cutting-edge material in the twentieth century due to their extensive use in engineering, owing to their high strength and lightweight characteristics. Composites are manufactured with polymers and reinforced with fibers such as glass fiber, carbon fiber, Kevlar fiber, and many more. Delamination has been found to be a significant problem in composite materials, and it has the potential to cause catastrophic failure through brittle failure. To delay such events in polymer composites, carbon-based nanoparticles have been widely added to reinforce the polymer, resulting in an improvement in the strength of composites. After 1991, the development of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) revolutionized the plastic composite industry due to its versatile characteristics. CNT, whose strength is 100 times higher than that of steel, can reinforce polymers and enhance the mechanical strength of composites. The present study focuses on reviewing the published literature to provide an insight view for readers to predict the stability and vibration characteristics of CNT-reinforced composite panels. It also discusses the influence of temperature rise, functional gradation, volume fraction, and agglomeration effect in case of randomly distributed CNTs in composite plates/panels. The research gaps are identified at the end that may help readers understand the voids in this field of research.