Carbon Nanotubes/Polymer Composites Mechanical Properties Research

With the excellent properties of carbon nanotubes, they are the ideal reinforcement in the21st century of nanoscience. Carbon nanotubes reinforced composites is a focus and hot spot ofcurrent research. With the development of computer technology,computer simulation hasbecome a widely applied research method.This paper focus on the finite element modelconstruction based on atom method and calculation of the key mechanical properties of carbonnanotubes/polymer matrix composites.1. On the basis of molecular structural mechanics and finite element theory, two kinds ofcarbon nanotubes models like zigzag and armchair are built, the elastic and shear modulus arecalculated. The results show that the Young’s modulus of carbon nanotubes increases as thediameter increases,it converges to a certain value eventually.2. According to the first principle,the molecular model of polypropylene can be built by theMaterials Studio software and its mechanical properties are calculated.3. The carbon nanotubes/polypropylene composite finite element model is built. Throughthe selection of representative volume element, the model is simplified and the RVE is a cubethat contains a slender cylinder carbon nanotube.4. The deformation, stress and effective elastic modulus of the carbon nanotubes/polypropylene composite are calculated by ANSYS software, effects of type and the volumefraction of nanotube on nanotube/polymer composites are studied.