Mechanical properties of carbon nanotube reinforced nanocomposites

One way to take advantage of the marvelous properties of the carbon nanotubes consists in incorporating them into a matrix to build composite materials. The best candidates for this task are undoubtedly polymers thanks to their strength, toughness, low weight, and easy processing. A mixed model, numerical-analytical, is presented that allows one to predict the elastic properties of carbon nanotube (CNT)/polymer composites containing a random distribution of CNTs, while taking account of the curvature that they show when immersed in the polymer. A three-dimensional model, using a single CNT immersed in an infinite matrix, allows us to numerically evaluate the concentration tensor by evaluating the average nanotube strain. The Mori-Tanaka model uses this tensor to predict the effective elastic modulus of composites with CNTs randomly oriented. This hybrid approach represents an appreciable evolution over the micromechanical modeling [1] and can be applied to every nanostructured composites. To simulate the mechanical behavior of CNTs, a structural non linear model, previously developed [2], has been adopted; this model is a modified version of a known methodology [3-4]. To simulate the nanotube-matrix interface, interactions have been implemented. The new methodology has been validated by comparison with the results of laboratory tests performed on epoxy resin-CNTs composites. References [1] A. Pantano, G. Modica, F. Cappello: Mat. Sci. and Eng. A, 486, 222-227, 2008. [2] M. Garg, A. Pantano, M.C. Boyce: J. of Eng. Mat. and Tech., 129, 431-439, 2007. [3] A. Pantano, M.C. Boyce, D.M. Parks: J. Mech. Phys. Solids, 52, 789-821, 2004. [4] A. Pantano, M.C. Boyce, D.M. Parks: J. of Eng. Mat. and Tech., Trans. ASME, 126, 279-284, 2004.