Electrical resistance change and crack behavior in carbon nanotube/polymer composites under tensile loading

This paper studies the electrical and mechanical responses of cracked carbon nanotube (CNT)-based polymer composites. Tensile tests were performed on single-edge cracked plate specimens of the nanocomposites at room temperature and liquid nitrogen temperature (77 K), and the electrical resistance change of the specimens was monitored. An analytical model based on the electrical conduction mechanism of CNT-based composites was also developed to predict the resistance change resulted from crack propagation. The crack induced resistance change was calculated, and a comparison of the analytical predictions against the experimental data was made to validate the applicability of the model. In addition, the fracture properties of the nanocomposites were assessed in terms of the J-integrals using an elastic–plastic finite element analysis.