Abstract
By considering the surface free energy effect, an analytical investigation on the fracture behaviors of nanoparticle-reinforced composites was performed in this study. The plastic zones ahead of the crack tips based on the Irwin model were introduced in our analysis, which has a significant influence on the fracture toughness of inelastic structures, especially for polymer and metal matrix composites. Take copper and aluminum nanoparticles as examples, comprehensive parametric studies were conducted to investigate the interaction between a Griffith crack and the nearby nanoparticle. It was found that for nanoparticles with the radius of less than 10 nm, apart from the mechanical property of the nanoparticle, the surface free energy effect plays a dominant role in determining the fracture behaviors of the nanoparticle-reinforced composites. Moreover, taking the surface free energy into account, a decrease in the plastic zone size is obtained, particularly for the crack tip nearer the nanoparticle.
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