Investigation of Dispersion, Interfacial Adhesion of Isotropic and Anisotropic Filler in Polymer Composite

Abstract

The movement of isotropic and anisotropic particles of iron and graphite within the polymer matrix was predicted and examined by the COMSOL simulation method. The interfacial adhesion of filler particles within the matrix was investigated under surface features observation. Carbonyl Iron (CI) particles, considered to be regular with a uniform size of (1–5 µm), were mixed with irregular particles of graphite (20–150 µm) with 30 V% in quantity in a silicone rubber matrix. The particle–matrix and particle–particle interactions were analyzed from the inner surface features. The drag of non-spherical particles and particle Reynolds numbers (Rep) were taken into consideration in point force models for both the Stokes (Rep ≪ 1) and Newton regime for particle shape. Newton regime is based on the aspect ratio for particles with regular and irregular shapes. The boundary area of the irregular particles holds like an anchor inside the polymer matrix for strong adhesion; however, regular particles have partial attachment due to the gravitational pull of attraction from the bottom contact points. However, uniform distribution of isotropic particles has been observed in comparison to the anisotropic particles within the polymer matrix.