Study the effect of viscoelastic matrix model on the stability of CNT/polymer composites by multiscale modeling

Abstract In this article, a Molecular Structural Mechanics/Finite Element (MSM/FE) multiscale modeling of carbon nanotube/polymer composites with viscoelastic (VE) polymer matrix is introduced. The nanotube is modeled at the atomistic scale using structural molecular mechanics. The matrix deformation is analyzed by nonlinear finite element method considering VE behavior. The nanotube and matrix are assumed to be bonded by van der Waals interactions based on the Lennard‐Jones potential at the interface. Using the MSM/FE multiscale model, we investigate the effect of carbon nanotube (CNT) on the improvement of mechanical stability of the nanocomposite. Also, the buckling behavior of these nanocomposites is studied considering large deformation behavior of the VE polymer, and the results are compared with those of the linear elastic matrix. The results show that using carbon nanotubes, the mechanical stability of polymer materials can be improved significantly. Also, it is revealed that by considering the VE behavior model for polymer matrix instead of linear elastic one, the buckling onset strain decreases drastically. Comprising the obtained results from the model with and without considering VE matrix, with the experimental data shows that the model with VE polymer matrix predicts the behavior of real CNT‐reinforced polymer composites better and thus should be used for more accurate simulations. POLYM. COMPOS., 2009. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers