Finite element modeling of two different CNT/polymer composites: CNT/PMMA and CNT/PmPV

Carbon nanotube (CNT) in polymeric matrix is investigating due to improvement of the structural, mechanical, thermal and electronic properties of resulting CNT/polymer composite. This improvement depends on: properties, features and volume fractions of CNTs and polymer. In this paper, there are three main parts for using an analysis on a finite element model simulation (FEM): carbon nanotube, surrounding polymer and interaction region between carbon nanotube and its surrounding polymer that van der Waals forces act in the interaction region. We studied two different polymer matrices: PmPV and PMMA. The results of FEM simulations show a non-linear stress-strain behavior and also illustrate that interfacial effects in interaction region cannot be ignored. Furthermore, the variance of results is observed in rule of mixture in compare of FEM results.