Experimental and numerical study on HDPE/SWCNT nanocomposite elastic properties considering the processing techniques effect

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the elastic properties of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) reinforcements with experimental and Finite element method (FEM) considering two different processing techniques effect. SWCNT nanoparticles were used to strengthen the HDPE matrix at the weight fractions (wt%) of 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1 and the resulting nanocomposites were processed using injection and compression moulding. From each processing method, the HDPE/SWCNTs nanocomposites tensile test specimen were prepared and tested for the elastic properties. Experimental results showed that the addition of SWCNT nanoparticles for each weight fractions and both processing methods enhanced the elastic properties of HDPE. Finally, the numerical simulations were conducted using FEM for the prediction of the elastic modulus of HDPE/SWCNT nanocomposites for both processing methods. Whereby the representative volume element (RVE) model was presented with an interfacial phase region separating the load transfer between the SWCNT and HDPE with the properties obtained from the atomic modelling results. The numerical FEM elastic modulus results were found to correlate with the experimental results.