Abstract
By using the advantages of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), such as their excellent mechanical properties and low density, CNT-reinforced metal matrix composites (MMCs) are expected to overcome the limitations of conventional metal materials, i.e., their high density and low ductility. To understand the behavior of composite materials, it is necessary to observe the behavior at the molecular level and to understand the effect of various factors, such as the radius and content of CNTs. Therefore, in this study, the effect of the CNT radius and content on the mechanical properties of CNT-Al composites was observed using a series of molecular dynamics simulations, particularly focusing on MMCs with a high CNT content and large CNT diameter. The mechanical properties, such as the strength and stiffness, were increased with an increasing CNT radius. As the CNT content increased, the strength and stiffness increased; however, the fracture strain was not affected. The behavior of double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWNTs) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) was compared through the decomposition of the stress–strain curve and observations of the atomic stress field. The fracture strain increased significantly for SWNT-Al as the tensile force was applied in the axial direction of the armchair CNTs. In the case of DWNTs, an early failure was initiated at the inner CNTs. In addition, the change in the elastic modulus according to the CNT content was predicted using the modified rule of mixture. This study is expected to be useful for the design and development of high-performance MMCs reinforced by CNTs.
Highlights
As carbon nanotubes (CNTs) exhibit excellent mechanical properties, polymer and metal matrix composite (MMC) materials reinforced with CNTs have been actively developed
Through tensile simulations and decomposition of the stress–strain curve, it was confirmed that the increased strength of the composites was due to the high strength of CNTs
double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWNTs) showed greater elastic moduli compared to those of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs); the fracture strain was smaller for DWNTs compared to SWNTs
Summary
As carbon nanotubes (CNTs) exhibit excellent mechanical properties, polymer and metal matrix composite (MMC) materials reinforced with CNTs have been actively developed. Since the importance of developing lightweight materials is increasing from an environmental point of view, CNT composite materials have been studied for the purpose of supplementing the low strength of polymers or low-density metals. Composites reinforced with CNTs in low-density metals, such as aluminum and magnesium, have been actively developed and studied in the last decade [1,2]. Developed CNT-reinforced carbon matrix (CNT-C) composites have shown great potential as lightweight, strong, and highly conductive materials [4,5]. Molecular properties of the CNTs, affect the mechanical properties of the final composite materials dynamics (MD) simulations are asimulations good method systematically study the independent.
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