Parametric Study on Mechanical, Thermal and Electrical Properties of Graphene Reinforced Composites by Effective Medium Theory

Abstract

This paper conducts theoretical study on the mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of graphene reinforced composites by effective medium theory (EMT). Considering the imperfect bonding between the reinforcing fillers and the matrix, an interphase surrounding the graphene fillers is introduced during the EMT modeling. The coated graphene fillers are homogenized as effective reinforcements dispersed in a matrix. The EMT model is validated by comparing the predicted material properties with previously reported results. Parametric study is carried out to investigate the influences of several parameters, including concentration and geometry of graphene fillers, the attributes of the introduced an interphase and the alternating current (AC) frequency, upon the effective material properties of the reinforced composites. The results demonstrate that the increase of the thickness of the interphase results in the decrease of Young’s modulus, thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity of the composites while it is favorable to enhance the dielectric properties of the composites. The increase in the aspect ratio of the graphene filler enhances all material properties involved. Percolation behaviors are observed for the dielectric properties of the composites. Moreover, the dielectric properties of the composites are very sensitive to the change of the AC frequency within a certain range, which suggests the achievement of active tuning of material properties.