Investigation of mechanical properties of graphene reinforced epoxy nanocomposite using molecular dynamics

Graphene is a two-dimensional hexagonal type of carbon allotropes in the form of a sheet. It is a one atom thick sheet of carbon atoms, which has extraordinary thermal, mechanical, electronic and electrical properties. In the present research, a molecular dynamic study has been done to investigate the mechanical properties of graphene reinforced epoxy nanocomposite. A single layer of graphene sheet has been randomly reinforced into the epoxy matrix at 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% weight percentages. A dense amorphous cell is created using the Forcite module of Material Studio software and simulation is performed. Young's modulus is predicted at varying strain rate from 0-1. Results have revealed that Young's modulus increases with increase in reinforcement quantity. Moreover, graphene reinforced epoxy nanocomposite exhibits better properties than CNT reinforced nanocomposites.