Lightweight Copper–Carbon Nanotube Core–Shell Composite Fiber for Power Cable Application

Kavitha Mulackampilly Joseph; Kyle Brittingham; Vamsi Krishna Reddy Kondapalli; Mahnoosh Khosravifar; Ayush Arun Raut; Brett David Karsten; Hunter J. Kasparian; Nhat Phan; Arun Kamath; Amjad S. Almansour; Maricela Lizcano; Diana Santiago; David Mast; Vesselin Shanov

doi:10.3390/c9020043

C (Apr 2023)

Lightweight Copper–Carbon Nanotube Core–Shell Composite Fiber for Power Cable Application

Kavitha Mulackampilly Joseph,
Kyle Brittingham,
Vamsi Krishna Reddy Kondapalli,
Mahnoosh Khosravifar,
Ayush Arun Raut,
Brett David Karsten,
Hunter J. Kasparian,
Nhat Phan,
Arun Kamath,
Amjad S. Almansour,
Maricela Lizcano,
Diana Santiago,
David Mast,
Vesselin Shanov

Affiliations

Kavitha Mulackampilly Joseph: Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
Kyle Brittingham: Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
Vamsi Krishna Reddy Kondapalli: Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
Mahnoosh Khosravifar: Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
Ayush Arun Raut: Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
Brett David Karsten: Department of Chemistry, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
Hunter J. Kasparian: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
Nhat Phan: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
Arun Kamath: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Amjad S. Almansour: Glenn Research Center, NASA, Cleveland, OH 44135, USA
Maricela Lizcano: Glenn Research Center, NASA, Cleveland, OH 44135, USA
Diana Santiago: Glenn Research Center, NASA, Cleveland, OH 44135, USA
David Mast: Department of Physics, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
Vesselin Shanov: Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/c9020043
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 9, no. 2
p. 43

Abstract

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The substitution of traditional copper power transmission cables with lightweight copper–carbon nanotube (Cu–CNT) composite fibers is critical for reducing the weight, fuel consumption, and CO2 emissions of automobiles and aircrafts. Such a replacement will also allow for lowering the transmission power loss in copper cables resulting in a decrease in coal and gas consumption, and ultimately diminishing the carbon footprint. In this work, we created a lightweight Cu–CNT composite fiber through a multistep scalable process, including spinning, densification, functionalization, and double-layer copper deposition. The characterization and testing of the fabricated fiber included surface morphology, electrical conductivity, mechanical strength, crystallinity, and ampacity (current density). The electrical conductivity of the resultant composite fiber was measured to be 0.5 × 106 S/m with an ampacity of 0.18 × 105 A/cm2. The copper-coated CNT fibers were 16 times lighter and 2.7 times stronger than copper wire, as they revealed a gravimetric density of 0.4 g/cm3 and a mechanical strength of 0.68 GPa, suggesting a great potential in future applications as lightweight power transmission cables.

Published in C

ISSN: 2311-5629 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science: Chemistry: Organic chemistry
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/carbon

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