Abstract
Epoxy polymers are finding large scale application in construction industry for repair and retrofitting of deficient concrete structures, because of their great compatibility with construction materials and laminate composites. There is a scope to enhance the physico-chemical and mechanical properties of commercially available epoxy polymers through nanoscale modification. But, the improvement in the properties of the polymeric matrix mainly depends on the compatibility and extent of interaction of nanoparticles with the epoxy polymers. With the exponential growth in the field of nanotechnology and nanoscience, number of potential and compatible nanoparticles is available which can be judiciously explored to engineer the epoxy polymer to attain the desirable properties. In view of this, Molecular Dynamics (MD) studies have been carried out to investigate the interaction of filament type nano materials such as Carbon Nanotube (CNT) with different types of epoxy polymers. Various types of resins and hardeners available in market and usually adopted in industrial applications have been considered for the study. Steered Molecular Dynamics simulation has been carried out individually on CNT and epoxy resins. CNTs of different chiralities and diameters and epoxy resins are subjected to constant velocity pulling and their responses are observed. Then, the interaction of each of the epoxy polymer with CNT is investigated. In order to verify the results obtained from the affinity test using the interaction energy, pull out simulations have also been carried out. It has been found that pull out test results strongly supports the results obtained from the study using interaction energy in choosing the best and worst performing resins for nano engineering using CNT. From the study, the suitable resin and compatible epoxy is identified for CNT modification to ensure better performance of structures towards their repair and retrofitting. A new parameter has been proposed in the present study to uniquely quantify the extent of interaction of the polymer with CNT.
Published Version
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