COMPRESSIVE BEHAVIOR OF CARBON NANOTUBE REINFORCED POLYPROPYLENE COMPOSITES UNDER HIGH STRAIN RATE: INSIGHTS FROM MOLECULAR DYNAMICS

Abstract

Since the discovery of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), they have received a lot of attention because of their unusual mechanical electrical properties. Strain rate is one of the key factors that plays a vital role in enhancing the mechanical properties of nanocomposites. In this study, a (4, 4) armchair single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) was employed with the polymer matrix as polypropylene (PP). The influence of compressive strain rate on SWCNT/PP nanocomposites was evaluated using molecular dynamics simulations, and mechanical properties have been predicted. Stone-Wales (SW) and vacancy defects were integrated on the SWCNT. The maximum Young's modulus (E) of 81.501 GPa was found for the pristine SWCNT/PP composite for a strain rate of 10¹⁰ s^-1. The least value of E was 45.073 GPa for 6% SW defective/PP composite for a strain rate of 10⁸ s^-1. While the 6% vacancy defective CNT/PP composite showed the lowest value of E as 39.57GPa for strain rate 10⁸ s^-1. It was found that the mechanical properties of SWCNT/PP nanocomposites decrease with the increase in percent defect. It was also seen that the mechanical properties were enhanced with the increment in the applied strain rate. The results obtained from this study could be useful for the researchers designing PP-based materials for compression loading to be used for biomedical applications.