Effect of the crude oil environment on the electrical conductivity of the epoxy nanocomposites

This study is aimed to investigate the electrically conductive properties of epoxy nanocomposites exposed to an acidic environment under various mechanical loads. For simultaneous assessment of the acidic environment and mechanical load on the electrical conductivity of the samples, the samples with and without carbon nanotubes were exposed to the acidic environment under three different loading conditions for 20 days. Then, the aged samples' strength and flexural stiffness degradation under crude oil and bending stress were measured using a three-point flexural test. The aged samples in the acidic environment and under 80 percent of their intact ultimate strength revealed a 9% and 26% reduction of their electrical conductivity for samples with and without CNTs, respectively. The presence of nanoparticles declined flexural stiffness by about 16.39%. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the specimen were used to evaluate the dispersion quality of CNTs. The results of this study can be exploited in constructing conductive composite electrodes to be used in petroleum environments such as crude oil electrostatic tanks.