Thermo-mechanical characterization of multi-walled carbon nanotube reinforced polycarbonate composites: A molecular dynamics approach

摘要

The present study aims at examining the mechanical properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes-polycarbonate composites (MWCNT-PC), through a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Composites of MWCNT-PC were modeled using Materials Studio 5.5 software. Multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) compositions in polycarbonate (PC) were varied by weight from 0.5% to 10% and also by volume from 2% to 16%. Forcite module in Materials Studio was used for finding mechanical properties. A marked increase in the elastic modulus (up to 89%) has been observed, even with the addition of a small quantity (up to 2 weight %) of MWCNTs. Also, upon addition of about 2 volume % of MWCNTs, the elastic modulus increases by almost 10%. The increase in mechanical properties is found to supplement earlier experimental investigations of these composites using nano-indentation techniques. Better load transfer property of MWCNTs, larger surface area and interaction between reinforcement with base matrix are the suggested reasons for this increase in mechanical properties. (C) 2015 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.