Molecular dynamics and micromechanics study of hygroelastic behavior in graphene oxide-epoxy nanocomposites

S Yang and S Kwon and MY Lee and M Cho, COMPOSITES PART B-ENGINEERING, 164, 425-436 (2019).

DOI: 10.1016/j.compositesb.2019.01.059

The hygroelasticity of oxygen-functionalized graphene (GO)-epoxy nanocomposites is studied. Two different transversely isotropic nanocomposite molecular models are constructed: with uniformly distributed and interface-concentrated water molecules, respectively. The stress-strain curves and coefficients of moisture expansion (CMEs) are determined according to moisture content. The degradation of the GO/epoxy interface due to the infiltrated moisture is characterized by interfacial decohesion tests. The micromechanics model is used to derive new closed-form solutions for the effective elastic stiffness and CME of multi-phase composites with interfacial imperfections. Regardless of the moisture distribution, the overall hygroelasfic behavior of nanocomposites clearly degrades upon moisture absorption.

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