Molecular dynamics simulation for the analysis of mechanical properties and effect of Stone-Wales and bi-vacancy defect on carbon nanotube reinforced iron composites

Abstract

Carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced metal matrix composites (MMCs) are gaining the attention of the researchers because of their demand in space and automobile industries for having low weight and high mechanical properties. Iron is the most used metal in all engineering fields. Therefore, reinforcing iron with CNT can reduce its required amount, which might have a positive economic impact due to the reduced cost of production. However, before the industrial application of any material the mechanical properties under different conditions must be known. In this study, the mechanical properties of iron reinforced separately with single, double and triple wall CNTs are investigated by Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation. The study revealed that the strength and stiffness of pure iron could be enhanced up to 80.4 % and 57.4 %, respectively, by adding CNTs into iron. We also investigated the effect of fiber volume percentage and temperature on the mechanical properties of the composite having single, double and triplewalled carbon nanotubes individually. As the stone-wales and bi-vacancy defects are inherently introduced in CNTs during manufacturing, their effect on mechanical properties are also investigated in the present study.