Prediction of axial Young's modulus of epoxy matrix reinforced by group-IV nanotube: A finite element investigation

Abstract

In this article, the effect of adding nanotubes made by elements from group IV of the periodic table with different lengths and volume fractions on the axial elastic modulus of the epoxy matrix is investigated. For this purpose, carbon, silicon, germanium, and tin nanotubes (CNT, SiNT, GeNT and SnNT) are considered as reinforcement. At the nanoscale, the axial Young's modulus is obtained using a finite element method (FEM) based on the molecular structural model in which the beam and solid continuum are used for embedded nanotubes (NTs) and matrix, respectively. It is shown that CNT has the most significant effect on strengthening the epoxy matrix. For example, at a 5% CNT volume fraction with a length of 300Å, the axial elastic moduli of CNT, SiNT, GeNT, and SnNT/epoxy increase by 1.58%, 1.37%, 1.34%, and 1.32%, respectively. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd