The Influence of Temperature on the Cyclic Properties of the Transversely Isotropic Nanocomposite System Under Kinematic Harmonic Loading

Abstract

A micromechanical model is developed to determine the effective inelastic properties of nanocomposites under monoharmonic deformation by taking into account the detailed microstructural geometries and constitutive models of the constituents. By using the correspondence principle in viscoelasticity and the modified Mori–Tanaka method, the effects of interface between the inclusion and the matrix are taken into account. By applying the developed model, we perform the numerical analysis aimed at the determination of complex moduli for a polymeric nanocomposite reinforced with nanofibers composed from carbon nanotubes under the isothermal conditions. The dependences of complex moduli on temperature and the amplitude of strain intensity are analyzed. The composites reinforced with unidirectionally aligned nanofibers are considered. The accumulated results demonstrate a strong dependence of the storage and loss moduli on temperature within a broad temperature range. The storage and loss moduli are found to monotonically increase with the volume fraction of nanofibers. At the same time, they decrease as temperature increases. The obtained results show that the strength of material decreases as temperature increases in the elastic and inelastic regions and the inelastic behavior occurs for lower strain amplitude as temperature increases.