Process Optimization of Carbon Nanotube-Reinforced Polymer Composites to Enhance Mechanical Property Using the Taguchi Method

Purpose: This study aims to optimize and improve the mechanical properties of fused carbon nanomaterial (FCN) and short carbon nanotube (S-CNT) reinforced polymer composites via statistical analysis and the Taguchi method.BRMethods: Tensile specimens were fabricated based on the orthogonal array of the Taguchi method to investigate the change in tensile strength with a change in the fabrication process. Sensitivity analysis was performed with main effect plots using tensile strength data. Based on this analysis, the optimal process was found to improve the tensile strength of FCN and S-CNT-reinforced polymer composites. Furthermore, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to analyze the contribution of process parameters and significance level concerning the optimal process.BRResults: The tensile strengths of FCN and S-CNT-reinforced polymer composites increased by 6.18% and 10.28%, respectively, compared to the total mean strength obtained from the orthogonal array.BRConclusion: Various CNT-reinforced polymer composites can achieve enhanced mechanical properties via the optimal process suggested in this study.