Predicting mechanical properties of fuzzy fiber reinforced composites: radially grown carbon nanotubes on the carbon fiber

It is intended to predict mechanical properties of fuzzy fiber reinforced polymer. An appropriate computational modeling is developed on the basis of bottom-up modeling covering all involved scales of nano, micro, meso and macro. The effective parameters of each scale are identified using top-down scanning approach and defining a representative volume element for each scale of analysis. At nano-scale, mechanical properties of isolated CNT are estimated. Then, at the upper scale of micro, the interaction between CNT and surrounding polymer is investigated considering non-bonded van der Waals interactions. Mechanical properties of the CNT/polymer nanocomposite with radial arrangement of CNT are derived at meso scale. Subsequently, mechanical properties of a single fuzzy fiber encompassing core carbon fiber and surrounding CNT/polymer are calculated. Finally, mechanical properties of the uni-directional and short fuzzy fiber reinforced composites are evaluated at the scale of macro. Treating CNT volume fraction and its arbitrary non-straight shapes as random parameters, developed modeling is conducted stochastically. The results imply on the importance of stochastic modeling, since deterministic modeling is led to a noticeable overestimation in predicted results. A very good agreement is reported between predicted results by stochastic modeling and published experimental data in literature.