Realistic Electromagnetic Modeling of CNT and Graphene Composites: Quantifying the Effect of Shape and Distribution

Prof. Ahmed Hassan
University of Missouri - Kansas City

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) and Graphene Flakes (GF) exhibit highly complicated shapes and dispersions in composites and are neither perfectly straight nor aligned in any one direction. Recently, there is rising interest to quantify how the shape and distribution of these complex additives influence the overall mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of the composites. In this talk, we will discuss several unique models that study the electromagnetic response of CNT and GF with realistic shapes and distributions. The studies show that the shape and orientation of individual CNT and GF have a strong effect on their electromagnetic response.  Moreover, we will explain this effect using the Theory of Characteristic Modes which decomposes the electric currents that flow on the surface of CNTs and GFs into a set of orthogonal modes. We will also extend these models to study multiple CNT and graphene flakes and we will demonstrate how the modes of individual CNTs and GFs hybridize as they are grouped together, in close proximity, to form a cluster. These models have the potential to be the basis for advancing the nondestructive evaluation of CNT and GF composites using electromagnetic waves as well as the development of novel CNT electromagnetic devices and systems.