Multiscale micromechanical modeling of the thermal/mechanical properties of polymer/clay nanocomposites

Polymer/clay nanocomposites have been observed to exhibit enhanced thermal/mechanical properties at low weight fractions (We) of clay. Continuum-based composite modeling reveals that the enhanced properties are strongly dependent on particular features of the second-phase "particles"; in particular, the particle volume fraction (f,), the particle aspect ratio (L/t), and the ratio of particle thermal/mechanical properties to those of the matrix. These important aspects of as-processed nanoclay composites require consistent and accurate definition. A multiscale modeling strategy is employed to account for the hierarchical morphology of the nanocomposite: at a lengthscale of thousands of microns, the structure is one of high aspect ratio particles within a matrix; at the lengthscale of microns, the clay particle structure is either (a) exfoliated clay sheets of nanometer level thickness or (b) stacks of parallel clay sheets separated from one another by interlayer galleries of nanometer level height, and the matrix, if semi-crystalline, consists of fine lamella, oriented with respect to the polymer/nanoclay interfaces. Here, quantitative structural parameters extracted from XRD patterns and TEM micrographs (the number of silicate sheets in a clay stack, N, and the silicate sheet layer spacing, d(ool)) are used to determine geometric features of the as-processed clay "particles", including L/t and the ratio of fp to We.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Sheng, Nuo, 1977-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Mary C. Boyce and David M. Parks.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/38264

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/38264