Interphase in the mechanical behaviour prediction models for nanocomposites

Abstract

Polymers are increasingly used in the transport sector due to their many advantages; lightness, corrosion resistance, ease to process... However, most of them have limited mechanical properties. To improve these latter, one of the solutions is the addition of nano-reinforcements, this type of material is called nanocomposite. The particularity of these nanocomposites comes from the influence of the interphase, which is an interaction zone between the nanofillers and the matrix. It is therefore imperative to take it into account in the mechanical prediction models.Several analytical schemes are available to study nanocomposites. Some models use a serial or parallel representation of the phases (rule of mixture, Ji model, ...), while others rely on the mean field homogenization approach (Eshelby, Self-consistent, Mori-Tanaka, Double Inclusion, ...).However, directly observing the interphase and its properties experimentally is complex due to its size. Consequently, it is laborious to check the consistency of its consideration in analytical schemes. To compare these schemes, some limit cases of the interphase are studied. A numerical model is also used as a reference for two nanocomposites with distinct interphases.