Bending, free vibration, and buckling responses of chopped carbon fiber/graphene nanoplatelet-reinforced polymer hybrid composite plates: An inclusive microstructural assessment

Abstract

This paper presents a finite element analysis of the bending, buckling, and free vibration of the chopped carbon fiber/graphene nanoplatelet reinforced polymer hybrid composite plates. Both rectangular and circular composite plates are considered. The effective material properties of the chopped carbon fiber /graphene nanoplatelet reinforced hybrid composites are predicted using a multistep micromechanical model based on the Halpin–Tsai homogenization scheme. An inclusive microstructural assessment is accomplished by the evaluation of the influences of the volume fraction, length, thickness, and agglomeration of graphene nanoplatelets as well as the volume fraction, aspect ratio, and the alignment of the chopped carbon fibers on the mechanical behaviors of the chopped carbon fiber/graphene nanoplatelet hybrid composite plates. It is found that the bending, buckling, and vibration characteristics of hybrid composite structures are highly affected by the microstructural features. The addition of graphene nanoplatelets improves the stability of the chopped fiber-reinforced hybrid composite structures. The agglomeration of the graphene nanoplatelet into the polymer matrix leads to a degradation in the composite plate mechanical performances. Aligning the chopped carbon fibers significantly decreases the deflections, and increases the critical buckling loads and the natural frequencies of hybrid composite plates. Comparisons are conducted with the numerical results reported in literature that indicate good agreement with our results.