High Performance Composites with Active Stiffness Control

High performance carbon fiber reinforced composites with controllable stiffness could revolutionize the use of composite materials in structural applications. Here we describe a structural material, which has a stiffness that can be actively controlled on demand. Such a material could have applications in morphing wings or deployable structures. A carbon fiber reinforced–epoxy composite is described that can undergo an 88% reduction in flexural stiffness at elevated temperatures and fully recover when cooled, with no discernible damage or loss in properties. Once the stiffness has been reduced, the required deformations can be achieved at much lower actuation forces. For this proof-of-concept study a thin polyacrylamide (PAAm) layer was electrocoated onto carbon fibers that were then embedded into an epoxy matrix via resin infusion. Heating the PAAm coating above its glass transition temperature caused it to soften and allowed the fibers to slide within the matrix. To produce the stiffness change the carbon fibers were used as resistance heating elements by passing a current through them. When the PAAm coating had softened, the ability of the interphase to transfer load to the fibers was significantly reduced, greatly lowering the flexural stiffness of the composite. By changing the moisture content in PAAm fiber coating, the temperature at which the PAAm softens and the composites undergo a reduction in stiffness can be tuned.