Effects of interfacial van der Waals interaction on the elastic properties of graphene/polyethylene composites

doi:10.19936/j.cnki.2096-8000.20230728.004

Abstract

Abstract: In this paper, the elastic properties of graphene/polyethylene composites were studied by using representative volume element (RVE) combined with micromechanics and finite element (FE) method, and the influences of interfacial van der Waals (vdW) interaction on the elastic properties of graphene composites were analyzed. In the FE model, the carbon-carbon bonds are simulated by the spring elements for graphene, the solid elements for matrix, and the spring elements with the stiffnesses equate to the second derivative of Lennard-Jones potential for interfacial vdW. The vdW number is determined by a simple mathematical model, which makes up for the defect of ignoring the vdW number in existing studies. Sandwich RVE model and embedded RVE model are used to discuss the effect of interfacial vdW on the Young’s modulus and Poisson ratios of graphene/polyethylene composites with different graphene sizes and volume contents. The results show that the interfacial vdW interaction has great effect on Young’s modulus of graphene/polyethylene composites, especially on the Young’s modulus along the direction of graphene thickness, while small effect on Poisson ratios.

Key words: van der Waals interaction, graphene, composite materials, finite element method, elastic properties

CLC Number:

TB332

HUANG Lixin, ZHANG Yuanxiu, HUANG Jun. Effects of interfacial van der Waals interaction on the elastic properties of graphene/polyethylene composites[J]. COMPOSITES SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, 2023, 0(7): 26-34.

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