Combined effects of nanotube aspect ratio and shear rate on the carbon nanotube/polymer composites

We use fiber-level simulations to investigate the combined effects of carbon nanotube (CNT) aspect ratio and shear rate on the microstructure and electrical properties of CNT/polymer composites. In our previous studies, we studied the effects of aspect ratio at a constant shear rate as well as the effects of shear rate for a constant aspect ratio. In this study electrical properties and microstructure changes (e.g. agglomeration/deagglomeration, network strength, nanotube orientation) of CNT/polymer composites are investigated for varying aspect ratios at different shear rates. When shear rate is increased, we observe a decrease in the electrical conductivity and an increase in the anisotropy factor due to the deagglomeration and flow induced orientation. Increasing aspect ratio shifts the conductivity vs. shear rate curve to larger values and anisotropy vs. shear rate curve to lower values showing that there is a tendency for tube agglomeration when high aspect ratio nanotubes are used. On the other hand when low aspect ratio nanotubes are used, conductive networks can be more easily destroyed by the shear forces because networks formed by low aspect ratio nanotubes have lower strength than those formed by high aspect ratio nanotubes. Our results show that electrical conductivity is anisotropic with a larger component in the flow direction. The critical shear rate defined as the shear rate where the conductive network is destroyed and all components of the composite conductivity decrease to the matrix conductivity, shifts to higher values when the aspect ratio is increased. Reduced alignment and increased entanglement are the reasons of this decrease. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.