An investigation on effects of aspect ratio of representative volume element on elastic modulus of a carbon nanotubes reinforced polymer

One of the most applicable methods to study the mechanical behavior of reinforced polymers with CNTs is modeling of representative volume element (RVE). It has been shown that the mechanical behavior of RVE depends on its ingredients mechanical properties and its geometrical parameters. In this research، a RVE which includes a CNT and its surrounding polymer is chosen as a rectangular cube. In this research، effects of the length and depth of the RVE، the length of the CNT and the CNT caps on the elastic behavior of the RVE have been studied. Furthermore، the effect of the volume fraction of CNTs is also considered. First، an analytical solution has been developed to predict the elastic modulus of the RVE. Then، using a finite element method، the elastic behavior of the RVE is modeled. The analytical and numerical results show that at a constant volume fraction of the CNT، variation of each material and geometrical parameters can affect the longitudinal elastic modulus of the RVE significantly. However، it has been shown that the transverse elastic modulus of RVE is not sensitive to the geometrical parameters variations. Finally، using a combination of the Halpin-Tsai micromechanical model and the present analytical solution، a proper aspect ratio of the RVE for each volume fraction of the CNT has been determined and suggested.