Abstract:
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) possessing extremely high stiffness, strength, and resilience
would be the ultimate reinforcing materials for the development of polymer reinforced
nanocomposites. CNTs are promising new materials for blending with polyme rs with
potential to obtain low -weight nanocomposites of extraordinary mechanical, electrical,
thermal and multifunctional properties. Unlike conventional fiber reinforced composites,
there are wide variations in the diameter and length of the CNTs in the CNTs reinforced
composites.
In this work a numerical model has been developed to calculate tensile modulus and
tensile strength of randomly oriented short CNTs reinforced composites considering the
statistical variation of diameter and length of the CNTs . According to this model, the
whole composite is divided into several composite segments which contain CNTs of
almost same diameter and same length. Tensile modulus and tensile strength of the
composite is then calculated by weighted summation of the corr esponding modulus and
strength of each composite segment. Existing micromechanical approach for modeling of
short fiber reinforced composites is modified to account for the structure of the CNTs to
calculate the modulus and strength of each segmented CNTs reinforced composites. To
consider the CNTs structure, multi -walled CNTs with and without intertube bridging
have been considered. Statistical variations of the diameter and length of the CNTs are
modeled by the normal distribution.
Effects of intertube bridging in multi-walled CNTs and variations of CNT diameter and
length on the tensile modulus as well as tensile strength of the CNTs reinforced
nanocomposites have been investigated using this developed model. Results obtained
from this numerical model h ave also been compared with the available experimental
results and the comparison concludes that the developed model can be used to predict
tensile modulus and tensile strength of CNTs reinforced nanocomposites.
