Regular Article

Finite element investigation of temperature dependence of elastic properties of carbon nanotube reinforced polypropylene

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Guilan, P.O. Box 3756, Rasht, Iran
² Young Researchers and Elite Club, Langarud Branch, Islamic Azad University, Langarud, Guilan, Iran

^* e-mail: rouhi@iaul.ac.ir

Received: 3 May 2017
Received in final form: 18 August 2017
Accepted: 25 September 2017
Published online: 29 November 2017

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the elastic modulus of the polypropylene matrix reinforced by carbon nanotubes at different temperatures. To this end, the finite element approach is employed. The nanotubes with different volume fractions and aspect ratios (the ratio of length to diameter) are embedded in the polymer matrix. Besides, random and regular algorithms are utilized to disperse carbon nanotubes in the matrix. It is seen that as the pure polypropylene, the elastic modulus of carbon nanotube reinforced polypropylene decreases by increasing the temperature. It is also observed that when the carbon nanotubes are dispersed parallelly and the load is applied along the nanotube directions, the largest improvement in the elastic modulus of the nanotube/polypropylene nanocomposites is obtained.