Effects of the dispersion of polymer wrapped two neighbouring single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) on nanoengineering load transfer

YC Zhang and JH Zhao and N Wei and JW Jiang and YD Gong and T Rabczuk, COMPOSITES PART B-ENGINEERING, 45, 1714-1721 (2013).

DOI: 10.1016/j.compositesb.2012.09.079

The influence of polymer wrapped two neighbouring single-walled nanotubes' (SWNTs) dispersion on their load transfer is investigated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The influence of the SWNTs' position, the polymer chain length and the temperature on the interaction force between the two neighbouring SWNTs are systematically studied. There are four main findings from our simulations: (I) The dispersion angle dominates the amplitude and the interaction force evolution with or without polymer during the pulling process of two SWNTs. (2) The chain length does not affect the two SWNTs' interaction force within a short separation distance, the so called "Force enhancing point". The enhanced load effect of the polymer takes place after the load displacement goes across this point. (3) The temperature has a minor influence on the maximum pull force, while the increased temperature greatly decreases the pullout energy. (4) Based on the detailed analysis of the separation process, the self-repairing function of the system is found. The present results provide a guidance for understanding the load transfer of SWNT dispersion in phononic devices. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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