Fracture Analysis of Laminated Composite Plates Reinforced with Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs)

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of carbon nanotube reinforcement on the fracture behavior of laminated composite plates. Using classical laminated plate theory and the displacement correlation technique integrated with the finite element method, stress intensity factors are calculated for various carbon nanotube volume fractions, fiber orientations, crack lengths, and dispersion types. The research also examines how carbon nanotube-related factors such as waviness and agglomeration affect the stress intensity factor in different composite structures. A mesh convergence study is performed to determine a suitable mesh size. The results are compared with those reported in the literature, and very good agreement is obtained. This comparison verifies the method and demonstrates that the displacement correlation technique can be used to accurately calculate stress intensity factors and investigate the fracture behavior of composites reinforced with nanotubes. The influence of carbon nanotube inclusion on the fracture behavior of carbon fiber laminated composites using a computational framework has not previously been addressed, which constitutes the novelty of the present work. Parametric studies show that carbon nanotube reinforcement has a substantial effect on the stress intensity factor. This effect varies with the fiber orientation angle, which appears to have a greater influence on the stress intensity factor than the nanotube content. The main findings show that adding carbon nanotubes up to a certain content can reduce the stress intensity factor in composites, particularly when the load is applied along the fiber orientation. These results can help guide the selection of carbon nanotube inclusion to improve the fracture behavior of these structures.