Studies on the fatigue failure behaviour of novel carbon nanotube–glass composites

Single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) based glass composites were fabricated through a melt-quench process and their fatigue failure properties were studied using a repeated indentation technique. The SWCNT–glass composites were found to exhibit significantly reduced damage in comparison to their respective base glasses, as corroborated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The fatigue resistance parameter (n) of the samples was determined where considerable increment in ‘n’ values in case of composites than that of the base glasses was observed. Moreover, a mathematical equation was also proposed for the theoretical estimation of the percentage enhancement in fatigue resistance parameter (In) of the composites and it was found to be in good agreement with the experimental values. Finally, the superior fatigue resistant behaviour of the SWCNT-glass composites was well elucidated with the help of cushioning effect and enhanced plasticity of the nanotube bundles embedded within the glass structure.