Loading Rate-Dependent Fracture Properties and Electrical Resistance-Based Crack Growth Monitoring of Polycarbonate Reinforced with Carbon Nanotubes Under Tension

摘要

This paper presents a combined numerical-experimental study on the loading rate-dependent fracture behavior of cracked carbon nanotube (CNT)-based polymer composites under tension. Tensile tests at various loading rates were conducted on single-edge cracked plate specimens of CNT/polycarbonate composites. The electrical resistance change of the composite specimens was utilized to capture the crack behavior during the tests. An elastic-plastic finite element analysis was also employed to determine the fracture properties by means of the J-integral. In addition, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation was implemented to assess the fracture mechanisms of the CNT-based polymer composites under the different loading rates.