Multiscale micromechanical modeling of polymer/clay nanocomposites and the effective clay particle

Effect of inclusion size on mechanical properties of polymeric composites with micro and nano particles

Toughenability of polymers

Polymer-based solid electrolytes containing ceramic nanoparticles are attractive alternatives to liquid electrolytes for high-energy density Li batteries. In this study, three different types of fillers have been dispersed in poly(ethylene) oxide (PEO) polymer matrices, and the effects on the resulting ionic conductivity of the nanocomposites have been examined. In this respect, the efficacy of one active, liquid-feed flame spray pyrolysis synthesized amorphous Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3 (LATP), and two passive filler materials, TiO2 and fumed silica nanoparticles, are compared. Nanocomposite electrolytes are prepared with up to 20 wt % particle loadings. PEO/LiClO4 with 10 wt % LATP nanoparticles exhibits an ionic conductivity of 1.70 × 10–4 S·cm–1 at 20 °C, the highest among the surveyed systems, despite exhibiting comparable or higher degrees of crystallinity and glass transition temperatures than the systems containing passive fillers. The ionic conductivity of the composites with LATP nanoparticles exceed...

Lithium Ion Conducting Poly(ethylene oxide)-Based Solid Electrolytes Containing Active or Passive Ceramic Nanoparticles

Micromechanical modeling of dual phase steels

It is now well appreciated that a number of semicrystalline polymers can be effectively toughened by the addition of a well-dispersed secondary phase, when the average interparticle matrix ligament thickness, Λ, of the blend is reduced below a critical length parameter, Λc. This critical parameter is a specific material characteristic of the base polymer and can be achieved by various combinations of filler particle volume fraction and particle size. Recently, the significant improvements in toughness achieved when Λ≤Λc were attributed to a morphological transition taking place when interface-induced crystallization of characteristic thickness Λc/2 successfully percolates through the primary phase. These transcrystallized layers are highly anisotropic in their mechanical response and, as a result, change the preferred modes of plastic deformation in the material, enabling the large plastic strains, which provide the high toughness. This study aims to elucidate the micromechanics and micromechanisms responsible for the high toughness exhibited by these morphologically altered heterogeneous systems via a series of micromechanical models. The case of polyamide-6 modified with cavitating spherical elastomeric particles treated as voids is modeled. It is found that the mechanical response and local modes of plastic deformation of these systems depend strongly on the morphology of the primary phase, the volume fraction of filler particles and the level of applied stress triaxiality. In particular, when Λ<Λc and highly textured material percolates through the matrix, the material is found to deform by multiple shear banding along crystallographic planes of low shear resistance in the matrix ligaments diagonally bridging particles. This mode of plastic deformation is found to be robust to increases in triaxiality and, indeed, the textured material acts to resist void growth while promoting shear along the preferentially oriented crystallographic planes.

P.A. Tzika

Papers

Micromechanics of deformation in particle-toughened polyamides