Molecular dynamics-based multiscale nonlinear vibrations of PMMA/CNT composite plates

Poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/carbon nanotube (CNT) composite plates have been extensively used in aviation and aerospace fields. During intended service life, the PMMA/CNT composite structure is prone to severe vibration, which leads to the formation of cracks and the fracture of structures. In order to achieve vibration attenuation, it requires a fundamental understanding of the vibration behavior of composite structures. Here, a molecular dynamics (MD) based multiscale approach is developed to analyze the nonlinear vibration behavior of PMMA/CNT composite plate. Molecular simulations are performed to capture the mechanical properties of the composite and constituents, including longitudinal, transverse, and shear moduli of single-walled CNT (SWCNT) segment, PMMA matrix, and PMMA/SWCNT nanocomposite. The MD simulation results are substituted into the extended rule of mixtures to derive the related efficiency parameters, which are used as the fundamental inputs in a meshless approach to predict the nonlinear vibration of macroscale functionally graded (FG)-based composite plates. According to the macroscale simulation, it is found that the arrangement of CNTs has a significant influence on the nonlinear vibration of FG-based composite plates. The developed multiscale approach provides an efficient paradigm of investigating the macroscopic behavior of composite structure in consideration of the mechanical response from microscopic constituents. (c) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.