Mori–Tanaka Modeling of Polymer Nanocomposites: Interface Effect on the Moduli

Polymer nanocomposites have gained popularity due to ease in manufacturing and enhanced elastic properties and strength compared to polymers. The main focus of the study is on the determination of elastic properties of polymer nanocomposites reinforced with 1, 2, 5, and 10% volume fractions of nanoparticles. The scheme used for the study is Mori–Tanaka. It is established on Eshelby’s sole filler problem and effectively determines the elastic properties of the nanocomposites. The cases studied in this paper are no, soft, medium-stiff, and stiff interface of 0.6 nm thickness for the determination of Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, and Shear modulus of the nanocomposites. It has been observed that a 27% increment in the moduli with a stiff interface has been achieved compared to no interface case. The medium-stiff interface has a positive effect on the elastic properties. A 10% and 3% increase in E and G, respectively, have been observed compared to no interface case. A remarkable increment of 27% for both E and G has been observed for the stiff interface case compared to the no interface case.