Application of the reduced concentration principle to filled polymers

The filler-concentration dependence of the modulus of elasticity of composites based on polyester resin filled with various kinds of dispersed fillers has been investigated. The applicability of the reduced concentration principle to this class of materials is demonstrated. The question of the existence of a universal dependence of the modulus of elasticity of composites on the filler content, invariant with respect to the nature of the polymer and the filler, is examined.     

Formation of a transition layer on the fillers of polymer composites

Based on a plane model of composites, the effect of a transition layer on the elastic modulus E_c of the composites is analyzed in the case where, under the action of a load, the transition layer is formed both on the side of matrix and filler. In evaluating E_c, it is assumed that the elastic modulus in the layer grows linearly from the elastic modulus of matrix to that of filler, but pores in the filler are impermeable to matrix macromolecules. Analytic relation ships are found which allow one to determine the volume fractions of the transition layer on the side of matrix and filler if the experimental elastic modulus of the composite is known. These relationships are used to find the magnitude of the layer in epoxy composites with various fillers and to evaluate its effect on the compressive elastic modulus of the composites. __________ Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 42, No. 5, pp. 693–700, September–October, 2006.     

Effect of a dispersed filler on the modulus of elasticity of composites in the glassy state

An expression is proposed for predicting the reinforcement of composites by a dispersed filler in both the rubbery and glassy states with allowance for the internal thermal stresses in the polymer matrix. It is shown that by varying the plasticizer concentration in composites based on polyvinyl chloride it is possible to regulate the thermal stresses in the polymer matrix. The time-stress and time-concentration superposition principles are shown to be applicable to the dependence of the relative modulus of elasticity on filler concentration for glassy composites.     

A review of the mechanical properties of isolated carbon nanotubes and carbon nanotube composites

A literature review on the prediction of Young’s modulus for carbon nanotubes, from both theoretical and experimental aspects, is presented. The discrepancies between the values of Young’s modulus reported in the literature are analyzed, and different trends of the results are discussed. The available analytical and numerical simulations for predicting the mechanical properties of carbon nanotube composites are also reviewed. A gap analysis is performed to highlight the obstacles and drawbacks of the modeling techniques and fundamental assumptions employed which should be overcome in further studies. The aspects which should be studied more accurately in modeling carbon nanotube composites are identified.     

Modeling viscoelastic response of particulate polymeric composites with high volume fractions of fillers

A generalized self-consistent method is extended to particulate viscoelastic composites with elastomeric matrices and high volume fractions of elastic inclusions. It is shown that the effective bulk modulus of a composite coincides with the bulk modulus of particles. A quadratic operator equation is derived for an analog of the effective shear relaxation kernel. This equation is explicitly solved using the Laplace transform method. The influence of material and geometrical parameters of a composite on its effective viscoelastic moduli is analyzed numerically.     

Effect of disperse mineral fillers on the strain-strength properties and crack resistance of cured polyesters

Conclusion The tendency of disperse mineral fillers toward aggregation, with the formation of a continuous framework of particles, when filler content is greater than the SCC is manifest in a sharp increase in the difference between the relative viscosity of polyester binder-pastes in the uncured state and the relative elastic modulus in the cured state. It is also manifest in an increase in the relative modulus and a reduction in crack growth energy in cured composites. In this case, there is an especially large increase in the size of the characteristic defect, which ultimately determines the reduction in the breaking stress. The modification of binder-pastes with surfactants increases filler dispersion and makes it possible to increase the strength of cured composites.Presented at the Sixth All-Union Conference on the Mechanics of Polymer and Composite Materials (Riga, November, 1986).Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, No. 5, pp. 819–824, September–October, 1987.     

预测纳米纤维复合材料有效弹性性能的界面模型和界面相模型北大核心CSCD

基于广义自洽法,同时采用Gurtin-Murdoch界面模型和界面相模型研究了纳米纤维复合材料的有效弹性性能,获得了两种模型下有效体积模量的封闭解析解和计算有效面内剪切模量数值解的全部公式.基于界面模型的解答,讨论了有效体积模量和有效面内剪切模量的界面效应.证明了界面模型的解答可由界面相模型的解答退化得到,其中有效体积模量可以实现解析退化,有效面内剪切模量则可以数值退化.以含纳米孔洞的金属铝为例,比较了两种模型计算结果的差异.结果表明,当纳米孔洞半径较小时,两个模型的结果存在很大差异,而当半径较大时两个模型的结果差别不大.     

Investigation of the three-dimensional micromechanical behavior of woven-fabric composites

A three-dimensional representative volume-element model is presented to study the micromechanical behavior of woven-fabric composites. The effects of the fiber undulation zone and the fiber braid angle on the elastic modulus of the composites are taken into account in the unit cell. Based on isostrain and isostress assumptions, a standard homogenization procedure is used to calculate the effective elastic properties of woven-fabric composites, and all the final stiffness components are expressed in an explicit form. The results obtained by the model considered agree with published experimental results very well. The relationship between the geometric parameters, such as fiber width, thickness, volume fraction, etc., and the macromechanical behavior of the composites can be obtained by this model. Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 42, No. 2, pp. 209–220, April–May, 2006.     

Thermal deformation of a composite reinforced with hybrid cloth strips

Conclusion We tested (for mechanical and thermal effects) composites reinforced with hybrid cloth COS and VAI strips; five alternate schemes of material, which differred in terms of the content of VAI layers and layers reinforced with COS, were tested. The elasticity characteristics, tension diagrams, and CLTE of the composites were determined. It was established experimentally that variation in the relative content of the above-indicated layers makes it possible to regulate the thermal expansion of the composite in the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing strips Objectively over significant ranges; in this case, the elastic modulus varies negligibly, while the specific elastic modulus remains virtually unchanged,An alternate scheme for determining the elasticity characteristics and CLTE of laminar polymeric materials reinforced with hybrid cloth strips on the basis of component properties is developed. The model according to which the structural organization of the composite is subdivided into several levels is primarily a computational model. The stress-strain state of the repeating structural elements is evaluated by methods of the strength of materials. The proposed algorithm for computing the physicomechanical characteristics of laminar composites is implemented in the form of a computer program. The experimental elasticity characteristics and CLTE obtained for composites with a different content of COS and VAI layers are compared with those calculated in accordance with the method developed (the computed values correspond to the experimental with an accuracy acceptable for engineering applications).Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, No. 3, pp. 392–401, May–June, 1988.     

Composite materials reinforced with a system of three straight,mutually orthogonal fibers

An extension of existing methods of calculating fibrous composites to the case of reinforcement in three mutually perpendicular directions is presented. The basic approach involves the introduction of a "modified" matrix, the properties of which are determined in terms of the elastic moduli of the binder and the reinforcement coefficient in one of the three directions. Approximate expressions are obtained for the elastic characteristics of materials with a high-modulus reinforcing phase. There is a considerable increase in the transverse modulus by comparison with the shear modulus, even for a low reinforcement coefficient in the third direction.     

Effect of the composition and concentration of fibrous wastes from linen yarn production on the physicomechanical properties of polyolefin composites

An analysis is made of the feasibility of using wastes from the production of linen yarm (scutch, spinning and carding refuse) to modify low-density polyethylene. The effect of the composition and concentration of wastes on the processing properties (melt index), physicomechanical indices (tensile strength, elastic modulus in bending), and water resistance of composites based on low-density polyethylene is studied. It is found that the melt index decreases with an increase in the content of filler and that even a composite with a high filler content (40–50% by weight) maintains values of 0.2–0.3 g/10 min. The elastic modulus in bending increases with an increase in the content of waste, regardless of the nature of the latter. Tensile strength increases slightly and depends on the choice of filler. This result, combined with the reducation in the scatter of values of elastic modulus with an increase in filler concentration, is an indicator of the relatively high degree of heterogeneity of the systems that were studied. The water resistance of the composites decreases with an increase in filleer content. To reduce the heterogeneity of the systems, mixing should be intensified and modifiers such as stearic acid and polyisocyanates should be added.Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 408–416, May–June, 1997.     

Methods of analysing ropes. The extension–torsion method

Two new approaches are used for calculating the stress–strain state of a rope and its stiffnesses. The first approach relies on the theory of fibrous composites and Saint-Venant's solution for a cylinder with helical anisotropy. The second approach is based on the solution by the finite element method of the three-dimensional problem of elasticity theory for a solid inhomogeneous cylinder formed by a finite number of elastic fibres arranged in helical lines and connected by a weak filler (in the sense that its Young's modulus is several orders of magnitude less than the Young's modulus of the fibre). The behaviour of the stiffness when the modulus of elasticity of the filler tends to zero is analysed, and the results of the limiting transition are discussed. The numerical results obtained are compared with calculations by other well-known applied theories.     

具有非均匀界面相的颗粒和纤维增强复合材料弹性静力学问题的解析解

通过将以位移表示的平衡方程转化为黎卡提方程,得到了具有非均匀界面相的颗粒和纤维增强复合材料非均匀界面相内弹性场的解析解·　所得的解析解是弹性模量呈幂次方变化的非均匀界面相解的通用形式·　任意给定1个幂指数,可以得到具有非均匀界面相的颗粒和纤维增强复合材料体积模量的解析表达式·　通过改变幂指数及幂次方项的系数,此解析解可适用于具有多种不同性质的非均匀界面相·　结果表明:界面相模量和厚度对复合材料模量有很大的影响,当界面相存在时,粒子将出现一种"尺寸效应"·     

Application of the reduced concentration principle to filled polymers

An investigation has been made into the applicability of the reduced concentration principle to composites based on a partially crystalline polymer — low-density polyethylene — with 13 mineral fillers of different chemical composition, particle size, and porosity. It is shown that over the entire accessible interval of filler load factors the composites investigated obey the law of corresponding states. It is suggested that the deviation of the generalized dependence of the modulus of elasticity from the analogous dependence obtained for amorphous network polymers is associated with a decrease in the crystallinity of the polymer matrix with increase in filler concentration.     

Correlation between the Mechanical Properties and the Amount of Desorbed Water for Composites Based on Low-Density Polyethylene and Linen Yarn Production Waste

The effect of the amount of desorbed water on the mechanical properties of composites based on low-density polyethylene and linen yarn production waste (LW) is analyzed by statistical methods. It is shown that the amount of absorbed water decreases during the desorption process at room temperature both for specimens modified and unmodified with diphenylmethane diisocyanate (DIC.) The most sensitive to the action of water is the elastic modulus, which decreases considerably under the effect of water and is fully restored in the desorption process. The tensile strain also increases with the amount of absorbed water. It is found that the elastic modulus of the unmodified composite correlates linearly with the amount of desorbed water. Between the amount of desorbed water and the tensile strain, as well the specific work of deformation, a negative linear correlation is revealed. After water desorption, all strength and deformation characteristics of both the modified and unmodified composites are fully recovered.__________Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 515–524, July–August, 2005.     

Dynamic stability of carbon nanotubes reinforced composites

Based on an effective model of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and Donnell-shell theory, an analytical method is presented to study dynamic stability characteristics of multi-walled carbon nanotubes reinforced composites considering the surface effect of carbon nanotubes. From obtained results it is seen that carbon nanotubes composites, under combined static and periodic axial loads, may occur in a parametric resonance, the parametric resonance frequency of dynamic instability regions of CNTs reinforced composites under axially oscillation loading enhances as the stiffness of matrix surrounding CNTs increases, and the surface effective modulus and residue stress of carbon nanotubes make the parametric resonance frequency and the region breadth of dynamic instability of carbon nanotubes reinforced composites increase.     

An effective permeability model to predict field-dependent modulus of magnetorheological elastomers

Magnetorheological elastomers (MREs) are composites where magnetic particles are suspended in a non-magnetic solid or a gel-like matrix. MREs are shown to have a controllable, field-dependent shear modulus. Most of conventional MREs models are based on magnetic dipole interactions between two adjacent particles of the chain. These models can predict the field-dependent properties of MREs with simple chain-like structures. In this paper, an effective permeability model is proposed to predict the field-induced modulus of MREs. Based on the effective permeability rule and taking into account the particle’s saturation, the model is proposed to predict the mechanical performances of MREs with complex structure and components. The effectiveness of the model is justified by a designed novel MREs.     

Influence of nano-SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> and carbon fibers on the mechanical properties of POM composites

Polyoxymethylene/carbon fiber(POM/CF)composites containing nano-SiO₂ were prepared, and their mechanical properties were investigated. At a content of 1-5 vol.%, the nano-SiO₂ exerted an obvious reinforcing effect on POM, leading to an increase in the elastic modulus and stiffness of the composites.     

Effect of the structure of a polymer matrix and its area of contact with the surface of the filler on the rigidity of a polyethylene composite

The distribution of the orientation of the macromolecules over the wall cross section of a filled polyethylene tube is analyzed. A direct proportionality is established between the degree of orientation (estimated from the shrinkage) and the elastic modulus. The effect of various fillers on the melting and crystallization of low-density polyethylene is considered. For a specified filler concentration the elastic modulus of the composites depends very considerably on the relative area of contact between the polymer matrix and the surface of the filler.Institute of the Mechanics of Polymers, Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, Riga. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 3, pp. 387–391, May–June, 1974.     

Shear of orthogonally reinforced spherofibrous composites

The problem of determining the shear characteristics and interphase stress concentration of fibrous composites with spherical inclusions is examined on the basis of a three-phase model. Stress fields caused by diffusion interaction of phases are neglected. The elastic moduli of the composite are investigated and compared with those obtained from a two-phase model. The general formula for determination of the shear modulus of triorthogonally reinforced compsites is derived using previously investigated relationships for averaged stress fields. The matrix of these compsites contained spherical cavities. The dependence of integral characteristics of three-phase composites on their bulk phase concentration was investigated. The stresses between phases were studied as a function of composite structure.A. A. Blagonravov Machine-Science Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia. Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, No. 1, 104–111, January–February, 1997.