Theoretical Modeling and Experimental validation of Electro-shear Behavior of Carbon Nanotubes Embedded Epoxy Nanocomposite

Abstract Theoretical modeling and experimental validation for electro-shear behavior of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) embedded epoxy under quasi-static shear loading are performed. The theoretical modeling incorporates electron tunneling between CNTs and the electrical resistance change due to shear deformation of the epoxy matrix between CNTs. Two different contact types (head to head and overlap) and three different deformation connections (Type-I, Type-II, and Type-III) are considered to model the electrical network. Using the constitutive relations, the model relates the matrix deformation between the CNTs to the macroscale deformation of the composite. To validate the modelling results, experiments are performed using a four circumferential ring probe method. A parametric study is performed to investigate the effect of the total number of initial contact types, ratio of contact types, and number of potential Type-II deformation connections on electrical response. The theoretical predictions are validated with experiments for the first two stages of deformation and an optimal combination of deformation connections are obtained to have a close match with experimental findings.