Patent ID: 7537825

Claim:
A hybrid nanocomposite architecture comprising: a first composite ply having a top surface and a bottom surface and, said first composite ply including a first plurality of fibers disposed therein; a carbon nanotube (CNT) film layer having a top surface and a bottom surface, said CNT film layer including a plurality of CNT bundles disposed therein, each of said CNT bundles including a plurality of CNTs extending from the bottom surface of said CNT film layer to a top surface of said CNT film layer, the bottom surface of said CNT film layer disposed in an abutting relationship with said top surface of said first composite ply; and a second composite ply including a second plurality of fibers disposed therein, said second composite ply having a top surface and a bottom surface, said bottom surface of said second composite ply disposed in an abutting relationship with said top surface of said CNT film layer, and wherein said CNTs of said CNT film layer act as a penetrating bridge across an interface between said first composite ply and said second composite ply and wherein said CNTs of said CNT film layer are aligned in a transverse direction with respect to said first and second composite plies, wherein the first composite ply is oriented at a first orientation and the second composite ply is oriented at a second orientation different from said first orientation.