Analytical and Computational Micromechanics Analysis of the Effects of Interphase Regions and Orientation on the Effective Coefficient of Thermal Expansion of Carbon Nanotube-Polymer Nanocomposites

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Seidel ◽  
Skylar Stephens
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Expansion ◽  
Carbon Nanotube ◽  
Polymer Nanocomposites ◽  
Coefficient Of Thermal Expansion ◽  
Effective Coefficient ◽  
Computational Micromechanics

Effect of aluminum carbide interphase on the thermomechanical behavior of carbon nanotube/aluminum nanocomposites

2018 ◽  
Vol 233 (9) ◽  
pp. 1843-1853 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolong Shi ◽  
Mohammad Kazem Hassanzadeh Aghdam ◽  
Reza Ansari
Keyword(s):  
Finite Element Method ◽  
Finite Element ◽  
Thermal Expansion ◽  
Carbon Nanotube ◽  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Chemical Interaction ◽  
Coefficient Of Thermal Expansion ◽  
Aluminum Matrix ◽  
Aluminum Carbide ◽  
Element Method

The objective of this work is to investigate the coefficient of thermal expansion of carbon nanotube reinforced aluminum matrix nanocomposites in which aluminum carbide (Al4C3) interphase formed due to chemical interaction between the carbon nanotube and aluminum matrix is included. To this end, the micromechanical finite element method along with a representative volume element, which incorporates, carbon nanotube, interphase, and aluminum matrix is employed. The emphasis is mainly placed on the effect of Al4C3 interphase on the coefficient of thermal expansion of aluminum nanocomposites with random microstructures. The effects of interphase thickness, carbon nanotube diameter, and volume fraction on the thermomechanical response of aluminum nanocomposite are discussed. The results reveal that the effect of Al4C3 interphase on the coefficient of thermal expansion of the aluminum nanocomposites becomes more significant with (i) increasing the coefficient of thermal expansion volume fraction, (ii) decreasing the coefficient of thermal expansion diameter, and (iii) increasing the interphase thickness. It is clearly observed that the coefficient of thermal expansion varies nonlinearly with the carbon nanotube diameter; however, it decreases linearly as the carbon nanotube volume fraction increases. Furthermore, the axial and transverse coefficient of thermal expansions of aligned continuous and discontinuous carbon nanotube-reinforced aluminum nanocomposites with Al4C3 interphase are predicted. Also, the presented finite element method results are compared with the available experiment in the literature, rule of mixture, and concentric cylinder model results.

scholarly journals Effects of added SiO2 nanoparticles on the thermal expansion behavior of shape memory polymer nanocomposites

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Javad Mahmoodi ◽  
Mohammad Kazem Hassanzadeh-Aghdam ◽  
Reza Ansari
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Expansion ◽  
Shape Memory ◽  
Polymer Nanocomposites ◽  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Coefficient Of Thermal Expansion ◽  
Shape Memory Polymer ◽  
Polymer Nanocomposite ◽  
Thermal Expansion Behavior ◽  
Interphase Region ◽  
Expansion Behavior

In this study, a unit cell–based micromechanical approach is proposed to analyze the coefficient of thermal expansion of shape memory polymer nanocomposites containing SiO2 nanoparticles. The interphase region created due to the interaction between the SiO2 nanoparticles and shape memory polymer is modeled as the third phase in the nanocomposite representative volume element. The influences of the temperature, volume fraction, and diameter of the SiO2 nanoparticles on the thermal expansion behavior of shape memory polymer nanocomposite are explored. It is observed that the coefficient of thermal expansion of shape memory polymer nanocomposite decreases with the increase in the volume fraction up to 12%. Also, the results reveal that with the increase in temperature, the shape memory polymer nanocomposite coefficient of thermal expansion linearly increases. The role of interphase region on the thermal expansion response of the shape memory polymer nanocomposite is found to be very important. In the presence of interphase, the reduction in nanoparticle diameter leads to lower coefficient of thermal expansion for shape memory polymer nanocomposite, while the variation of nanoparticles diameter does not affect the coefficient of thermal expansion in the absence of interphase. Based on the simulation results, the shape memory polymer nanocomposite coefficient of thermal expansion decreases as the interphase thickness increases. In addition, the contribution of interphase coefficient of thermal expansion to the shape memory polymer nanocomposite coefficient of thermal expansion is more significant than that of interphase elastic modulus.

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