Multiscale modeling of regularly staggered carbon fibers embedded in nano-reinforced composites

Abstract

This article deals with the multiscale modeling of stress transfer characteristics of nano-reinforced polymer composite reinforced with regularly staggered carbon fibers. The distinctive feature of construction of nano-reinforced composite is such that the microscale carbon fibers are packed in hexagonal array in the carbon nanotube reinforced polymer matrix (CNRP). We considered three different cases of CNRP, in which carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are: (i) aligned along the direction of carbon fiber, (ii) aligned radially to the axis of carbon fiber, and (iii) randomly dispersed. Accordingly, multiscale models were developed. First, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and then Mori-Tanaka technique were used to estimate the effective elastic properties of CNRP. Second, a micromechanical three-phase shear lag model was developed considering the staggering effect of microscale fibers and the application of radial loads on the cylindrical representative volume element (RVE).

Questions this source addresses

• How does the Mori-Tanaka technique combine with a three-phase shear lag model to estimate effective elastic properties of hierarchically reinforced composites?
• How does the orientation of carbon nanotubes within the polymer matrix (aligned axially, aligned radially, or randomly dispersed) affect stress transfer in nano-reinforced polymer composites?
• What multiscale modeling approach links molecular dynamics simulations of CNT-reinforced polymer to the micromechanical behavior of staggered carbon fibers at the microscale?
• Why might combining nanoscale carbon nanotube reinforcement with microscale carbon fiber reinforcement improve load transfer at the fiber-matrix interface compared to carbon fiber alone?