Static Crack Propagation of Carbon Nanotube through Non-Bonded Interface of Nanocomposites

This study presents an analytical shear-lag model to illustrate the interface crack propagation of carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced polymer-matrix composites (PMCs) using representative volume element (RVE). In the model, a 3D cylindrical RVE is picked to present the nanocomposite in which CNT/polymer chemically non-bonded interface is taken into consideration. In the non-bonded interface, the stress transfer of CNT is generally considered to be controlled by the combined contribution of mechanical interlocking, thermal residual stress, Poisson’s contraction and van der Waals (vdW) interaction. Since CNT/matrix interface becomes debonded due to crack propagation, vdW interaction which is a function of relative radial displacement of the CNT/matrix interface makes the modeling of the interface tricky and challenging. In order to solve this complexity, an iterative approach is proposed to calculate the vdW interaction for debonded CNT/matrix interface accurately. The analytical results aim to obtain the characteristics load displacement relationship in static crack propagation for CNT reinforced PMCs.