Oliver K. Johnson¹, Calvin J. Gardner¹, David T. Fullwood¹, Brent L.Adams¹, Nathan Hansen², George Hansen²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.15, No.2, pp. 87-112, 2010, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2010.015.087

Abstract A novel nickel nanostrand-silicone composite material at an optimized 15 vol% filler concentration demonstrates a dramatic piezoresistive effect with a negative gauge factor (ratio of percent change in resistivity to strain). The composite volume resistivity decreases in excess of three orders of magnitude at a 60% strain. The piezoresistivity does decrease slightly as a function of cycles, but not significantly as a function of time. The material's resistivity is also temperature dependent, once again with a negative dependence.
The evidence indicates that nickel strands are physically separated by matrix material even at high volume fractions, and points to a charge… More >

Edward Van Keuren¹, MakiNishida¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.14, No.1, pp. 61-78, 2009, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2009.014.061

Abstract Room temperature solution-based synthetic methods are an important option for the production of a wide range of nanomaterials. These methods often rely on self-assembly or self-organization of molecular precursors, with specific control of their nucleation and growth properties. We are developing strategies for the creation of multifunctional composite nanoparticles as well as models for predicting the bulk properties from the individual components and parameters of the processing conditions. One method of synthesis is a reprecipitation technique in which nanoparticle nucleation and growth is induced by the rapid injection of a molecular solution into a miscible non-solvent. Here we demonstrate that… More >

H. Elnaiem¹, D. Casimir¹, P. Misra¹, S.M. Gatica^1,2

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.14, No.1, pp. 23-34, 2009, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2009.014.023

Abstract Nanobubbles have been found to form at the interface of water and solid surfaces. We examine the conditions for such bubbles to form and estimate the pressure inside the bubble based on thermodynamic considerations. Using a simple model we calculate the contact angle for a wide range of temperatures and hypothetical substrates possessing a continuous range of strengths. We show that as the temperature increases the shape of a bubble changes continuously from a spherical cap with low curvature to a complete sphere. An equivalent effect results from either increasing the strength of the solid or decreasing the surface tension.… More >

D. S. Liu¹, C. Y. Tsai¹, S. R. Lyu²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.11, No.2, pp. 147-164, 2009, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2009.011.147

Abstract This study presents a novel numerical method for extracting the tempe -rature-dependent mechanical properties of the gold and aluminum thin-films. In the proposed approach, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are performed to establish the load-displacement response of the thin substrate nanoindented at temperatures ranging from 300-900 K. A simple but effective procedure involving genetic algorithm (GA) and finite element method (FEM) is implemented to extract the material constants of the gold and aluminum substrates. The material constants are then used to construct the corresponding stress-strain curve, from which the elastic modulus, yield stress and the tangent modulus of the thin film… More >

Hsien-Chie Cheng¹, Yu-Chen Hsu², Wen-Hwa Chen²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.11, No.2, pp. 127-146, 2009, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2009.011.127

Abstract Due to the limitation of fabrication technologies nowadays, structural or atomistic defects are often perceived in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) during the manufacturing process. The main goal of the study aims at providing a systematic investigation of the effects of atomistic defects on the nanomechanical properties and fracture behaviors of single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs) using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Furthermore, the correlation between local stress distribution and fracture evolution is studied. Key parameters and factors under investigation include the number, type (namely the vacancy and Stone-Wales defects), location and distribution of defects. Results show that the nanomechanical properties of the CNTs, such… More >

Yeau-Ren Jeng¹,Ping-Chi Tsai¹,Guo-Zhe Huang¹, I-Ling Chang¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.11, No.2, pp. 109-126, 2009, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2009.011.109

Abstract This study performs a series of Molecular Dynamics (MD) and Molecular Statics (MS) simulations to investigate the mechanical properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) under a uniaxial tensile strain. The simulations focus specifically on the effects of the nanotube helicity, the nanotube diameter and the percentage of vacancy defects on the bond length, bond angle and tensile strength of zigzag and armchair SWCNTs. In this study, a good agreement is observed between the MD and MS simulation results for the stress-strain response of the SWCNTs in both the elastic and the plastic deformation regimes. The MS simulations reveal that in… More >

B Keerthika¹, Y P Cao², D Raabe¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.10, No.3, pp. 243-258, 2009, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2009.010.243

Abstract In this study, effects of the plastic deformation and the time-dependent deformation behavior on the fundamental relations in the Oliver & Pharr method are studied by using finite element analysis based on a viscoelastic-plastic model developed for polymers. The study eventually yields an experimental protocol and using which, the instantaneous modulus of the viscoelastic-plastic materials may be reliably determined. Experiments have been performed on four polymers to verify the conclusions from the numerical analysis. More >

J. Ghanbari¹, R. Naghdabadi^1,2

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.10, No.1, pp. 41-64, 2009, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2009.010.041

Abstract Continuum-based modeling of nanostructures is an efficient and suitable method to study the behavior of these structures when the deformation can be considered homogeneous. This paper is concerned about multiscale nonlinear tensorial constitutive modeling of carbon nanostructures based on the interatomic potentials. The proposed constitutive model is a tensorial equation relating the second Piola-Kirchhoff stress tensor to Green-Lagrange strain tensor. For carbon nanotubes, some modifications are made on the planar representative volume element (RVE) to account for the curved atomic structure resulting a non-planar RVE. Using the proposed constitutive model, the elastic behavior of the graphene sheet and carbon nanotube… More >