• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
• /
• v.27 no.5
• /
• pp.393-401
• /
• 2014

In this paper, we propose an evaluation scheme of the coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) of constituents in composite materials using an inverse analysis. The size of constituents typically is about a few micrometers, which makes the identification of material properties difficult as well as the measurement results inaccurate. The proposed inverse analysis scheme, which is combined with the Mori-Tanaka method for predicting an equivalent CTE of composite materials, provides the CTE of the constituents in a straightforward manner by minimizing the cost function defined in lamina scale with the steepest descent method. To demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed scheme, the CTEs of several fibers (glass fiber, P75, P100, and M55J) embedded in matrix are evaluated and compared with experimental results. Furthermore, we discuss the effects of uncertainty of laminar and matrix properties on the prediction of fiber properties.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
• /
• v.26 no.6
• /
• pp.423-430
• /
• 2013

In this research, a paramteric study to account for the effect of interfacial strength and nanotube agglomeration on the elastoplastic behavior of carbon nanotube reinforced polypropylene composites is performed. At first, the elastoplastic behavior of nanocomposites is predicted from molecular dynamics(MD) simulations. By combining the MD simulation results with the nonlinear micromechanics model based on the Mori-Tanaka model, a two-step domain decomposition method is applied to inversely identify the elastoplastic behavior of adsorption interphase zone inside nanocomposites. In nonlinear micromechanics model, the secant moduli method combined with field fluctuation method is used to predict the elastoplastic behavior of nanocomposites. To account for the imperfect material interface between nanotube and matrix polymer, displacement discontinuity condition is applied to the micromechanics model. Using the elastoplastic behavior of the adsorption interphase zone obtained from the present study, stress-strain relation of nanocomposites at various interfacial bonding condition and local nanotube agglomeration is predicted from nonlinear micromechanics model with and without the adsorption interphase zone. As a result, it has been found that local nanotube agglomeration is the most important design factor to maximize reinforcing effect of nanotube in elastic and plastic behavior.