Xinyu Zhang, associate professor in polymer and fiber engineering, received a $350,000 award from Leading Edge Aeronautics Research for NASA Fund to study technology that would improve composite material in aerospace structures. This is phase two of Zhang’s ongoing research titled: “Poptube Technology, Enabling Multifunctional Hybrid Composites for Next Generation Aircrafts.” Phase one of research determined a novel method, Poptube Technology, which can be used to grow carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on carbon fiber fabrics, or “fuzzy fibers,” through microwave heating at room temperature in air, without a need for inert gas protection and additional feedstock gases.

The goal of phase two is to use this technique on a larger scale to implement a continuous manufacturing process to produce CNTs in mass production, at high energy-efficiency and high cost-effectiveness. There is no parallel technology to grow CNTs at this production level. Hybrid structural composites with superior mechanical performance and many novel properties can be manufactured using carbon fibers/fabrics produced by this ongoing technique. Zhang’s study will show that through CNT reinforcement in structural composites, next-generation aerospace structures will remove two barriers preventing applications of CNTs in reinforcing composites: lack of large-scale manufacturing capacity and high-cost-to-benefit ratio.

The award is for 18 months and Auburn will share 40 percent of the project with other universities including the University of Alabama and North Carolina State, along with NASA.