• Composites Research
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.178-185
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• 2012

One of a unique technique in manipulating a multifunctional composite is demonstrated in this study. An electric field is applied to a liquid suspension in order to align the inclusions along with the direction electric field. This is called FAiMTa(Field Aided Micro Tailoring). It makes orthotropic polymer composites by arranging the micro and/or nano size particle inclusions in chain-line formation. Several kinds of particles such as $Al_2O_3$, graphite, CNT(Carbon Nano Tube), W(Tungsten) are tested to verify the effectiveness of the FAiMTa. The particles redistributed in an epoxy suspension and their coupons show that mechanical and thermal properties of orthotropic and random composites containing those particles depend on the trend of particles' alignment. The micro-images of the functional composite from FAiMTa have been captures and their physical properties demonstrate their wide-range and state-of-the-art application for advanced multifunctional composites.