carbon nanofibers

Composites reinforced by thinner fibers are intensively studied in recent years and expected to have better
mechanical properties. With development of nanotechnology, the diameter of fiber can be as thin as
several nanometers, such as nanofibers and nanotubes. Then, do these thinner fibers definitely result in
composites with better mechanical properties? In this paper, the toughening effect of reinforcing fibers in
composites is investigated based on the three-level failure analysis model. It is found that thinner

Two doctoral (Ph.D.) research assistant (RA) student positions are available on the synthesis, characterization, and modeling of high performance energy-storage materials with nanostructures.