Elasto-plastic behavior of graphene reinforced nanocomposites with hard/soft interface effects

• Published in: Materials & design 2021-02, Vol.199, p.109421, Article 109421
• Main Authors: Sun, Yang, Hu, Yifeng, Liu, Mabao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Elastoplastic behavior; Graphene-reinforced nanocomposites; Homogenization; Interphase; Micromechanics
• ISSN: 0264-1275; 1873-4197
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matdes.2020.109421

Interface effects play an important role in the overall mechanical properties of graphene reinforced nanocomposites. This work concerns an investigation of the influence of hard/soft interface effects on the macroscopic elasto-plastic behavior of graphene reinforced nanocomposites. The theoretical framework is developed based on the interphase model, the second-order stress moment and the field fluctuation method. To demonstrate the validity of the present approach, comparative analyses against experimental data are presented, followed by detailed parametric analyses to expose the effects of the major micromechanical variables on the macroscopic elasto-plastic behavior of graphene-nanocomposites. The micromechanical variables include volume fraction, thickness and stiffness of hard/soft interphase, as well as geometrical size factor and aspect ratio of graphene nanosheets. [Display omitted] •A framework for modeling theelasto-plastic behavior of graphene-nanocomposites with interface effects is proposed.•The overall elasto-plastic properties with hard/soft interface effects has a good accuracy against experimental results.•Both geometrical size and aspect ratio of graphene nanosheets contribute to the interface effects.•The present approach provides a convenient tool for graphene-nanocomposites design and evaluation.