Investigating particle effect on tensile strength of particulate nanocomposites

This research aims to investigate the effects of particle size, volume fraction and dispersion on the tensile strengths of particulate nanocomposites with an embedded crack. The finite element micromechanical model in conjunction with linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) was used to study the particle effect on the fracture behavior of nanocomposites. Results indicated that the tensile strength of particulate composites increases when the particle size is decreasing, however it can be deduced dramatically by the local aggregation of particles. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental observation. In addition, the predictions show that the tensile strength decreases with the increase of volume fraction of nanoparticles. So far, no consistent experimental data can be found to validate the above results and thus further study in this issue is required.