Aligned carbon nanotube film enables thermally induced state transformations in layered polymeric materials

The energy losses and geometric constraints associated with conventional curing techniques of polymeric systems motivate the study of a highly scalable out-of-oven curing method using a nanostructured resistive heater comprised of aligned carbon nanotubes (A-CNT). The experimental results indicate that, when compared to conventional oven based techniques, the use of an "out-of-oven" A-CNT integrated heater leads to orders of magnitude reductions in the energy required to process polymeric layered structures such as composites. Integration of this technology into structural systems enables the in situ curing of large-scale polymeric systems at high efficiencies, while adding sensing and control capabilities.