Investigation of mechanical properties of graphene-CNT reinforced nickel metal matrix nanocomposite structure

Abstract

Nickel is a metal widely used in many industrial applications, but despite its superior properties, it also has some shortcomings. Carbon-based structures can be important reinforcement elements in improving the properties of metals. By providing a balance between the high corrosion resistance, high electrical conductivity and good magnetic properties of the nickel material and the lightness and high strength of carbon-based structures, a material with advanced properties can be obtained. Therefore, in this study, a new Nickel-Carbon nanostructure supported by a covalently bonded graphene-carbon nanotube (CNT) skeleton structure is presented. Additionally, three material designs with different geometric dimensions (Ni-G-CNT(5,5), Ni-G-CNT(10,10) and Ni-G-CNT(15,15)) were designed to determine the mechanical properties and properties of the structures in all directions. is to investigate the underlying deformation mechanisms. According to the results, it was observed that G-CNT structures increased the tensile and compressive behavior of the Ni structure in the CNT direction. For tensile loading in the CNT direction, as the CNT diameter decreases, the elastic modulus of the hybrid structures increases, while the maximum stress values are independent of the CNT diameter. As the CNT diameter increases, the ductility of the structures increases. In terms of compressive strength, it has been observed that in the linear region, as the CNT diameter increases, the strength generally increases and in the condensation region, it exhibits better compressive strength. With this study, an anisotropic nanostructure that is lighter and can exhibit higher tensile strength compared to the Ni structure is presented.