Homogenization of nanocomposites with agglomerating particles using embedded element method

Date

2023-8

Author

Demirtaş, Alperen

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Composite materials are used in different industries due to their superior and tunable properties. On the other hand, analytical approaches and tests are challenging and insufficient in the computation of their mechanical properties. Therefore, precise and efficient procedures should be used to calculate their homogenized effective properties. The aim of this study is to create a framework to compute the effective mechanical properties of nanocomposites efficiently and precisely. A crucial point to consider while calculating the effective properties is the effect of agglomeration. The agglomeration generally negatively affects the mechanical properties of nanocomposites. While achieving the objective, various methods are employed, and scripts are written to ease the computational process. Using representative volume elements and employing the embedded element method ease the preprocessing effort and the computational cost. Numerous studies have been conducted to prove the efficiency and reliability of the methods. After proving that the aforementioned approaches give compatible results after convergence studies, the outcomes of the studies are presented. Agglomerations are formed as larger spheres inside the matrix. Close particles vanish, and agglomeration is placed instead of selected particles. The mechanical properties of the agglomeration are assigned using the inverse rule of mixture. The effect of the agglomerations is observed by comparing the homogenized elastic properties of cases with and without agglomerations using the computational homogenization method. Also, a study is conducted showing the relation between the particle size and agglomeration effect on mechanical properties. Ultimately, the results are compared with the literature, and similar trends in the degradation of elastic properties are observed.

Subject Keywords

Nanocomposite, Homogenization, Agglomeration, Embedded Element Method, Representative Volume Element

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/105276

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis