The Effect of Temperature and Strain Rate on the Interfacial Behavior of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polypropylene Composites: A Molecular Dynamics Study

Polymers

Dietmar Drummer¹  Chao Chen²  Bingyan Jiang²  Zhanyu Zhai²  Muhan Zhang² 

[1] Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institute of Polymer Technology, Am Weichselgarten 9, D-91058 Erlangen, Germany;State Key Laboratory of High Performance and Complex Manufacturing, Light Alloy Research Institute, Central South University, Lushan South Road 932, Changsha 410083, China;

关键词: interface;    polymer-matrix composites (pmcs);    adhesion;    molecular dynamics simulation;   

DOI  :  10.3390/polym11111766

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

To make better use of fiber reinforced polymer composites in automotive applications, a clearer knowledge of its interfacial properties under dynamic and thermal loadings is necessary. In the present study, the interfacial behavior of glass fiber reinforced polypropylene (PP) composites under different loading temperatures and strain rates were investigated via molecular dynamics simulation. The simulation results reveal that PP molecules move easily to fit tensile deformation at higher temperatures, resulting in a lower interfacial strength of glass fiber−PP interface. The interfacial strength is enhanced with increasing strain rate because the atoms do not have enough time to relax at higher strain rates. In addition, the non-bonded interaction energy plays a crucial role during the tensile deformation of composites. The damage evolution of glass fiber−PP interface follows Weibull’s distribution. At elevated temperatures, tensile loading is more likely to cause cohesive failure because the mechanical property of PP is lower than that of the glass fiber−PP interface. However, at higher strain rates, the primary failure mode is interfacial failure because the strain rate dependency of PP is more pronounced than that of the glass fiber−PP interface. The relationship between the failure modes and loading conditions obtained by molecular dynamics simulation is consistent with the author’s previous experimental studies.

【 授权许可】

Unknown