Effect of Temperature on the Viscoelastic Properties of Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Polypropylene Composites

Finite element method (FEM) is used to analyze the mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) reinforced polypropylene (PP) composites. Firstly, polypropylene is assumed as a viscoelastic material, while carbon nanotubes are assumed as linear elastic materials to study the effect of temperature on the mechanical properties of neat PP and CNT/PP nanocomposites. Secondly, to compare the viscoelastic properties of neat PP and CNT/PP nanocomposites, the relaxation time at a specific temperature is used to investigate the relaxation of the nanocomposites for fixed tensile displacements. Thirdly, the effect of CNT volume fraction on the viscoelastic properties of nanocomposites is studied at different temperatures. Finally, to better understand the stress distribution along the CNT axial direction, a single carbon nanotube is isolated in the matrix to compare the stress distribution with nonisolated CNTs.