Rev.Adv.Mater.Sci.(RAMS)
No 1, Vol. 9, 2005, pages 34-44

MODELING TECHNIQUES FOR DETERMINATION OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF POLYMER NANOCOMPOSITES

P.K. Valavala and G.M. Odegard

Abstract

A review of modeling techniques for predicting the mechanical behavior of polymer nanocomposites is presented. A detailed discussion of Computational Chemistry and Computational Mechanics modeling techniques is given. The specific molecular-based and continuum-based modeling approaches are described in terms of assumptions and theory. The approached discussed are Ab initio simulations, Molecular dynamics, Monte Carlo, Analytical Micromechanics, Computational Micromechanics, Finite Element Methods, and Boundary Element Method. In addition to the discussion of the methods, specific results from recent studies are presented and compared. From these results, the general focus of current polymer nanocomposite modeling studies is summarized.

full paper (pdf, 272 Kb)