Abstract
Epoxy polymers are highly crosslinked polymers that result in brittle fracture. Adding rigid fillers to the bulk epoxy can lead to tougher composites. This study present comprehensive sensitivity analysis in order to determine the key input parameters for fracture toughness of particle/polymer nanocomposites. Within the framework of Extended Finite Element Method (XFEM), the cohesive segments method and phantom nodes have been exploited to model numerically the fracture and crack propagation based on 2D finite element model. Four common global sensitivity analysis methods are applied: (1) regression method, (2) elementary effects of Morris (MOAT), (3) Sobol’/Saltelli method, and (4) Extended fourier amplitude sensitivity test (EFAST). The results indicated that the maximum allowable principal stress and Young’s modulus of the epoxy matrix were the most two significant parameters. Besides, the size of the nanoparicles showed weighty interaction effect. The achievement of this study is of value for a better understanding of fracture mechanism in polymer nanocomposites that provides a sufficient support for the further exploration.
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