Effect of graphene on the creep and stress relaxation behaviors of epoxy-nanocomposite in viscoplastic deformation regime

Abstract

In this study, the creep and stress relaxation behaviors of epoxy nanocomposites reinforced with functional graphene in the viscoplastic deformation regime were investigated. Determin-ing these behaviors, which are important indicators of viscoelastic and viscoplastic behaviors, is critical for durability and reliability in the long-term behavior of polymer-based nanocom-posites. The effect of graphene, which has been used in many research fields in recent years and has superior mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties, on these time-dependent behaviors has been experimentally determined. To ensure that the nanocomposites with a content of 0.1 wt% functional graphene remained in viscoplastic deformation, the creep mea-surement was experimentally measured at 200 MPa constant stress level, and stress relaxation tests were experimentally conducted at 35.5% constant strain level for the 7200s. The results were compared with pure epoxy and observed a 48.5% improvement in creep resistance and a 21.9% improvement in stress drop with 0.1% f-GNF reinforcement to epoxy in the viscoplas-tic area. In this study, different from the studies in the viscoelastic and yield region generally discussed in the literature, the creep and stress relaxation behaviors of nanocomposites in the viscoplastic area were determined and important results were revealed for the determination of comprehensive material behavior in the design of nanocomposite structures.

Keywords

• Nanocomposite
• Creep
• Stress Relaxation
• Viscoplastic Deformation

References

1. REFERENCES
2. [1] Novoselov KS. Electric field effect in atomically thin carbon films. Science 2004;306:666–669.
3. [2] Singh NP, Gupta VK, Singh AP. Graphene and carbon nanotube reinforced epoxy nanocomposites: A review. Polymer 2019;180:121724. [CrossRef]
4. [3] Yao H, Hawkins SA, Sue H-J. Preparation of epoxy nanocomposites containing well-dispersed graphene nanosheets. Compos Sci Technol 2017;146:161–168. [CrossRef]
5. [4] King JA, Klimek DR, Miskioglu I, Odegard GM. Mechanical properties of graphene nanoplatelet/epoxy composites. J Appl Polym Sci 2013;128:4217–4223. [CrossRef]
6. [5] Prolongo SG, Moriche R, Jiménez-Suárez A, Sánchez M, Ureña A. Advantages and disadvantages of the addition of graphene nanoplatelets to epoxy resins. Eur Polym J 2014;61:206–214. [CrossRef]
7. [6] Raza MA, Westwood AVK, Brown AP, Stirling C. Texture, transport and mechanical properties of graphite nanoplatelet/silicone composites produced by three roll mill. Compos Sci Technol 2012;72:467–475. [CrossRef]
8. [7] Prolongo SG, Jimenez-Suarez A, Moriche R, Ureña A. In situ processing of epoxy composites reinforced with graphene nanoplatelets. Compos Sci Technol 2013;86:185–191. [CrossRef]

9. [8] Ahmadi-Moghadam B, Sharafimasooleh M, Shadlou S, Taheri F. Effect of functionalization of graphene nanoplatelets on the mechanical response of graphene/epoxy composites. Mater Design 2015;66:142–149. [CrossRef]
10. [9] Khabaz-Aghdam A, Behjat B, da Silva LFM, Marques EAS. A new theoretical creep model of an epoxy-graphene composite based on experimental investigation: effect of graphene content. J Compos Mater 2020;54:2461–2472. [CrossRef]
11. [10] Yang J, Zhang Z, Friedrich K, Schlarb AK. Creep Resistant Polymer Nanocomposites Reinforced with Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes. Macromol Rapid Commun 2007;28:955–961. [CrossRef]
12. [11] Tang L-C, Wang X, Gong L-X, Peng K, Zhao L, Chen Q, et al. Creep and recovery of polystyrene composites filled with graphene additives. Compos Sci Technol 2014;91:63–70. [CrossRef]
13. [12] Wang X, Gong L-X, Tang L-C, Peng K, Pei Y-B, Zhao L, et al. Temperature dependence of creep and recovery behaviors of polymer composites filled with chemically reduced graphene oxide. Compos Part A Appl Sci Manufact 2015;69:288–298. [CrossRef]
14. [13] Jia Y, Peng K, Gong X, Zhang Z. Creep and recovery of polypropylene/carbon nanotube composites. Int J Plasticity 2011;27:1239–1251. [CrossRef]
15. [14] Zandiatashbar A, Picu CR, Koratkar N. Control of epoxy creep using graphene. Small 2012;8:1676–1682. [CrossRef]
16. [15] Colak OU, Birkan B, Bakbak O, Acar A, Uzunsoy D. Functionalized graphene–epoxy nanocomposites: experimental investigation of viscoelastic and viscoplastic behaviors. Mech Time-Depend Mater 2022;27:185205. [CrossRef]
17. [16] Maria HJ, Lyczko N, Nzihou A, Joseph K, Mathew C, Thomas S. Stress relaxation behavior of organically modified montmorillonite filled natural rubber/nitrile rubber nanocomposites. Appl Clay Sci 2014;87:120–128. [CrossRef]
18. [17] Xia H, Song M, Zhang Z, Richardson M. Microphase separation, stress relaxation, and creep behavior of polyurethane nanocomposites. J Appl Polym Sci 2007;103:2992–3002. [CrossRef]
19. [18] Hashemi R. On the overall viscoelastic behavior of graphene/polymer nanocomposites with imperfect interface. Int J Eng Sci 2016;105:38–55. [CrossRef]
20. [19] Colak OU, Uzunsoy D, Bahlouli N, Francart C. Experimental investigation of oligo cyclic compression behavior of pure epoxy and graphene-epoxy nanocomposites. Polym Bull 2021;78:6935– 6952. [CrossRef]
21. [20] Bakbak O, Birkan BE, Acar A, Colak O. Mechanical characterization of Araldite LY 564 epoxy: creep, relaxation, quasi-static compression and high strain rate behaviors. Polym Bull 2022;79:2219–2235. [CrossRef]
22. [21] Shadlou S, Ahmadi-Moghadam B, Taheri F. The effect of strain-rate on the tensile and compressive behavior of graphene reinforced epoxy/nanocomposites. Mater Design 2014;59:439– 447. [CrossRef]
23. [22] Colak O. Modeling deformation behavior of polymers with viscoplasticity theory based on overstress. Int J Plasticity 2005;21:145–160. [CrossRef]
24. [23] W, Joshi A, Wang Z, Kane RS, Koratkar N. Creep mitigation in composites using carbon nanotube additives. Nanotechnology 2007;18:185703. [CrossRef]
25. [24] Tehrani M, Safdari M, Al-Haik MS. Nanocharacterization of creep behavior of multiwall carbon nanotubes/epoxy nanocomposite. Int J Plasticity 2011;27:887–901. [CrossRef]
26. [25] Putz KW, Palmeri MJ, Cohn RB, Andrews R, Brinson LC. Effect of Cross-Link Density on Interphase Creation in Polymer Nanocomposites. Macromolecules 2008;41:6752–6756. [CrossRef]
27. [26] Wei K, Zhu G, Tang Y, Liu T, Xie J. The effects of crosslink density on thermo-mechanical properties of shape-memory hydro-epoxy resin. J Mater Res 2013;28:2903–2910. [CrossRef]
28. [27] Yu JW, Jung J, Choi Y-M, Choi JH, Yu J, Lee JK, et al. Enhancement of the crosslink density, glass transition temperature, and strength of epoxy resin by using functionalized graphene oxide co-curing agents. Polym Chem 2016;7:36–43. [CrossRef]
29. [28] Jian W, Lau D. Creep performance of CNT-based nanocomposites: A parametric study. Carbon 2019;153:745–756. [CrossRef]