FEA evaluation of the Al4C3 formation effect on the Young’s modulus of carbon nanotube reinforced aluminum matrix composites

The effect on Young’s modulus of Al4C3 formation in the carbon nanotube (CNT)–Al interface, for Al matrix composites, was analyzed using Finite Elements Analysis (FEA) models, incorporating different CNT volume fractions and interfacial Al4C3 layers of various thicknesses. Reinforcements were modeled with and without the hemispherical end caps that characterize CNT. FEA estimations were compared to the Rule of Mixtures predictions. Results showed that the elastic modulus of the composites significantly rises as the CNT volume fraction increases, while the increase in the Al4C3 layer thickness provokes a slight increment in the Young’s modulus. This could be attributed to a combined reinforcement effect of the CNT and the interface. The inclusion of CNT with hemispherical end caps in the FEA model drops the estimated Young’s modulus. Finally, the results presented in this work demonstrated the importance of the model selection for analyzing the mechanical behavior of the composites.