Theoretical modeling of predicting elastic modulus of polyurethane copolymer/organic-montmorillonite nanocomposite

Abstract

A structure of theoretical models set was suggested to predict the elastic moduli of polyurethane copolymer (PUC)/organic modified montmorillonite (OMMT) nanocomposites (NCs) in terms of length (L) to thickness (t) ratio and volume fraction ([Formula: see text]) of OMMT nanoparticles. The predicted elastic modulus outcomes of PUC/OMMT NCs were compared with experiment data. The outcome demonstrated that the suggested aspect ratio of predicted elastic modulus decreased with increased [Formula: see text] of OMMT compared to experimental data. The largest value of effective aspect ratio belonged to the Hui–Shia model over all OMMT [Formula: see text]. The modified Halpin–Tsai model incorporated with the factor for decreasing modulus (FFDM) recorded the lowest range of percentage error between theoretical and experimental data around 0.385–0.816% at [Formula: see text] (4[Formula: see text]wt.%) OMMT.