Effect of Random Particle Size Distribution on the Percolation Threshold of Composites

The focus of this project was a simulation-based analysis of the effects of particle size variation on the percolation threshold of composites modeled as soft-core spheres and hard-core with soft shell spheres. A significant departure of this paper from similar studies is the use of spherical particles with different sizes, as opposed to attributing the same dimensions to every model. An evaluation of the onset of percolation was carried out through the alteration of the size of random spherical particles along a prescribed distribution, while still maintaining a set average size for all the spheres within the context of computational analysis. In the case of the soft-core, it was observed that the higher the radii deviation offset from the mean radius the lower the percolation threshold. This was valid for offsets of between 10% and 50% of the mean radii. The hard-core with soft-shell model followed a similar pattern but was valid only for offsets between 10% and 30%. The percolation threshold and radius size were proportional in both models and were accurately modeled and predicted using both linear and exponential equations.