Parametric Identification of Carbon Nanotube Nanocomposites Constitutive Response

Hysteresis due to stick-slip energy dissipation in carbon nanotube (CNT) nanocomposites is experimentally observed, measured, and identified through a one-dimensional (1D) phenomenological model obtained via reduction of a three-dimensional (3D) mesoscale model. The proposed model is shown to describe the nanocomposite hysteretic response, which features the transition from the purely elastic to the post-stick-slip behavior characterized by the interfacial frictional sliding motion between the polymer chains and the CNTs. Parametric analyses shed light onto the physical meaning of each model parameter and the influence on the material response. The model parameters are determined by fitting the experimentally acquired force-displacement curves of CNT/polymer nanocomposites using a differential evolution algorithm. Nanocomposite beam-like samples made of a high performance engineering polymer and high-aspect-ratio CNTs are fabricated and tested in a bending mode at increasing deflection amplitudes. The entire time histories of the restoring force are fitted by the model through a unique set of parameters. The parameter identification is carried out for nanocomposites with various CNT weight fractions, so as to highlight the model capability to identify a wide variety of nanocomposite hysteretic behaviors through a fine tuning of its constitutive parameters. By exploiting the proposed model, a nanostructured material design and its optimization are made possible toward the exploitation of these promising materials for engineering applications.