Numerical & experimental assessment of mixed-modes (I/II) fracture of PMMA/hydroxyapatite nanocomposite

Nowadays, polymer-based nanocomposites widely used in biocompatible restorative materials and medical equipment and polymer-based nanocomposites are the most important of them. One of the most useful biocompatible polymers in this field is polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). In this research, the experimental and numerical analysis of the fracture behaviors of PMMA nanocomposites that are reinforced with hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles are investigated under pure mode I, pure mode II and mixed-mode (I/II) loading. For this purpose, notched semi-circular bend (SCB) specimens containing various Wt. % of HA nanoparticles and different notch angles were fabricated. Then, the mechanical properties of the specimens and the fracture toughness of the notched specimens were investigated. To evaluate the accuracy of nanomaterial distribution, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images are analyzed and it was observed that at Wt. % of more than 1.5%, specimens with more cumulative masses of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles have more strength reduction. Also, to investigate the fracture behaviors of the produced specimens, the failure criteria of maximum tangential stress (MTS) and generalized maximum tangential stress (GMTS) were evaluated and it was observed that the GMTS criterion is more in line with the experimental results. In addition, the results showed that by increasing the Wt. % of HA nanoparticles from zero to 1% mass, the KIC value increased compared to the pure PMMA, whereas, by increasing this value to 1.5% mass, the fracture toughness decreased. Finally, the fracture initiation and prop-agation are evaluated using FEM and XFEM numerical methods and the values of stress intensity factors and crack growth path are predicted and compared with experimental values. The obtained numerical results are in good agreement with the experimental results.

Automated summary

In this study, the fracture behaviors of PMMA nanocomposites reinforced with hydroxyapatite nanoparticles were investigated under different loading modes. The results showed that increasing the mass percentage of nanoparticles could enhance the fracture toughness up to a certain level, but beyond a certain threshold, the fracture toughness decreased.