Development of cubic orthogonal skeleton or three perpendicular plates system for prediction of Young's modulus in polymer nanocomposites assuming the interphase

Kolarik proposed a model for Young's modulus of polymer particulate composites based on the cubic orthogonal skeleton or three perpendicular plates (3PP) system. However, this model commonly underestimates the modulus of polymer nanocomposites, because it does not take into account the interphase properties. In this paper, the Kolarik model is developed for polymer nanocomposites assuming the interphase role. The original and the developed models are compared with the experimental data, and also, the effects of material and interphase properties on the predicted modulus are discussed. The predictions of the developed model display fine agreement with the experimental results from literature assuming acceptable interphase. Similarly, the developed model shows the logical effects of material and interphase parameters on the modulus. For example, the modulus improves by reduction of nanoparticle size which increases the interfacial area between polymer chains and nanoparticles. The appropriate outputs of the developed model confirm the correct expansion of Kolarik model for modulus of polymer nanocomposites.