Micromechanical Constitutive Equations for the Effective Thermoelastic Properties of Carbon Nanotube-Reinforced Composites

Predicting thermomechanical properties of composites containing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is significantly depending on the assumed microstructural parameters (MSPs) of CNTs and CNT/matrix morphology. These MSPs include geometry, dispersion and orientation. On the other hand, CNT/matrix morphology refers to two microstructural observations. The first is whether or not an interphase exists between CNTs and matrix, whereas the second is whether or not voids exist due to, for example, debonding of CNTs. In this work, the aim is to propose micromechanical constitutive equations, which are based on the micromechanics principles of Eshelby and Mori-Tanaka models, for considering all of these MSPs altogether in addition to the other well-known MSPs. Accordingly, these equations can be used for modeling realistic nanocomposites to predict their effective thermomechanical properties in different directions. The obtained computational results are compared with other results of both experimental and theoretical investigations found in the literature, and good agreement is obtained.