Title: A scattered data approximation tool to map single-walled carbon nanotube dispersion to the processing parameters in polymer nanocomposites

Authors: Jonathan W. Lee, Andrew J. Meade, Jr., Enrique V. Barrera

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, William Marsh Rice University, 6100 Main St., MS 321, Houston, TX 77005, USA. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, William Marsh Rice University, 6100 Main St., MS 321, Houston, TX 77005, USA. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, William Marsh Rice University, 6100 Main St., MS 321, Houston, TX 77005, USA

Abstract: The relationship of nanocomposite dispersion to dispersion techniques and other processing parameters was studied. Examining all permutations of the various factors in the laboratory is a challenging task. In this paper, we propose to map a correlation between inputs and output via a self-adaptive scattered data approximation method. The proposed greedy algorithm, sequential function approximation (SFA), reveals the multidimensional behaviour of the system, provides the sensitivity of each input and presents the combination of inputs that is most suitable for a specific output. In this research, we have collected data from various research institutions and applied it to SFA. The results show that SWNT weight percent, sonication time, SWNT modification and high shear mixing time are key factors that affect the dispersion. This text discusses SFA, the data and the results in detail. This work serves as a proof of concept for functional mapping to be applied to polymer processing.

Keywords: classification; greedy algorithms; functional mapping; radial basis function; RBF; carbon nanotubes; CNTs; polymer nanocomposites; dispersion; polymer processing; feature selection; scattered data approximation; nanotechnology; sequential function approximation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJKEDM.2010.034843

International Journal of Knowledge Engineering and Data Mining, 2010 Vol.1 No.2, pp.184 - 198

Published online: 24 Aug 2010 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article