The superior mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes would make them excellent candidates for the next generation of composite materials. Researchers have tried to demonstrate the potential of that novel material with various degree of success. In order to complement the experimental efforts in this new field, the modeling of these new material systems is required. One challenge when modeling nanotube composites is the large scale span between the nanotube itself and the final component. The present study focuses on the creation of a framework and methodology to span three orders of magnitude in scale with interconnected models that relate performance of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) at the nanometer scale to a nano-array, nano-wire and micro-fiber with self-similar geometries. The geometry chosen is the helical array composed of discontinuous SWNT. The five elastic constants of the twisted SWNT fibers are then predicted using a finite element analysis combined with the strain energy method. It is shown that the Young's modulus of carbon nanotube fiber decreases dramatically even for small twist angles (less than 20°) without any contribution to the transverse properties. Moreover, it was shown that adding the polymer and its properties can have important effects on the elastic properties of the SWNT/polymer fiber. Finally, this model is compared to the experimental data and theoretical models found in the literature.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.81525 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Ashrafi, Behnam |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Engineering (Department of Mechanical Engineering.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002173274, proquestno: AAIMR06542, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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