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Abstract: Copper nano-ink with a drop-on-demand (DOD) piezoelectric inkjet printing method was introduced. The printed electrodes were thermally sintered to ensure high-quality electrical and mechanical performances. To check the reliability of the printed electrodes on a polymer layer, resistance changes were measured under static loading. The electrodes with various widths and thicknesses were used to find the optimal dimensions. A multifunctional composite laminate which can harvest and store a solar energy was fabricated using printed electrodes. An amorphous silicon solar cell and a thin film solid state lithium-ion battery were adhesively joined and electrically connected to a thin flexible printed circuit board (PCB). Then, the passive components such as resistor and diode were electrically connected to the printed circuit board by silver pasting. The integrated PCB was co-cured with a carbon/epoxy composite laminate by the vacuum bag molding process in an autoclave. The structural and functional performance of the final energy harvesting/storage composite laminate was tested under mechanical loading. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The cure kinetics of a thermally mendable polymer based on Diels-Alder (DA) and retro-Diels-Alder (rDA) reactions, mendomer 401, was investigated using dynamic differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The resulting behavior was modeled using a conventional cure kinetic model for thermosetting polymers. A composite panel with two layers of carbon fabric and mendomer 401 was fabricated following the cure cycle suggested by the cure kinetics model. Micro-indentation tests were performed to investigate mechanical properties and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) was conducted to study thermal behavior and to find the trigger temperature for healing. Self-healing behavior of the carbon fiber/mendomer composite was demonstrated using electrical resistive heating over the glass transition temperature. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]