Date of Award
12-2013
Access Type
Thesis - Open Access
Degree Name
Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering
Department
Aerospace Engineering
Committee Chair
Virginie Rollin, Ph.D.
First Committee Member
Dae Won Kim, Ph.D.
Second Committee Member
John Mathis, Ph.D.
Abstract
The aerospace industry is interested in increasing the strength while reducing the weight of carbon fiber composite materials. Adding single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) to a polymer matrix can achieve that goal by improving delamination properties of the composite. Due to the complexity of polymer molecules and the curing process, few 3-D Molecular Dynamics simulations of a polymer-SWCNT composite have been run. Our model runs on the Large-scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator (LAMMPS), with a COMPASS (Condensed phase Optimized Molecular Potential for Atomistic Simulations Studies) potential to represent the interactions between the atoms of the polymer and the SWCNT. This potential includes non-bonded interactions (9-6 Lennard-Jones), bond interaction (class2), angles (class2) and dihedrals (class2) to create a molecular dynamics model for single-walled carbon nanotubes and EPON 862/DETDA (Diethyltoluenediamine) polymer matrix. Two simulations were performed in order to test the implementation of the potential. The first one is a tensile test on a SWCNT, leading to a Young's modulus of 1.4 TPa at 300K. The second one is a pull-out test of a SWCNT from an originally uncured EPON 862/DETDA matrix.
Scholarly Commons Citation
Ingvason, Guttormur Arnar, "Molecular Dynamics Model of Carbon Nanotubes in EPON 862/DETDA Polymer" (2013). Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses. 82.
https://commons.erau.edu/edt/82
