Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
ABSTRACT
In this chapter, new trends in computational chemistry and computational
mechanics for the prediction of the structure and properties of CNT mate-
rials are presented simultaneously.
9.1 INTRODUCTION
It has been known that the mechanical properties of polymeric materi-
als like stiffness and strength can be engineered by producing composites
that are composed of different volume fraction of one or more reinforc-
ing phases. In traditional form, polymeric materials have been reinforced
with carbon, glass, basalt, ceramic and aramid microfibers to improve
their mechanical properties. These composite materials have been used in
many applications in automotive, aerospace and mass transit. As time has
proceeded, a practical accomplishment of such composites has begun to
change from micro scale composites to nanocomposite, taking advantages
of better mechanical properties. While some credit can be attributed to
the intrinsic properties of the fillers, most of these advantages stem from
the extreme reduction in filler size combined with the large enhancement
in the specific surface area and interfacial area they present to the matrix
phase. In addition, since traditional composites use over 40 wt.% of the
reinforcing phase, the dispersion of just a few weight percentages of nano-
fillers into polymeric matrices could lead to dramatic changes in their me-
chanical properties. One of the earliest nanofiller that witch have received
significant and shown super mechanical properties is Carbon Nano Tube
(CNT), because of their unique properties, CNTs have a wide range of po-
tentials for engineering applications due to their exceptional mechanical,
physical, electrical properties and geometrical characteristics consisting
of small diameter and high aspect ratio. It has shown that dispersion of
a few weight percentages of nanotubes in a matrix dramatically increase
mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of composite materials.
Development of CNT-nanocomposites requires a good understanding of
