Predictions of stiffness and strength of nylon 6/MMT nanocomposites with an improved staggered model

An improved staggered model has been developed for the predictions of stiffness and strength of nylon 6/MMT nanocomposites. The model is partitioned into four regions: A (for MMT platelet), B and D (for matrix: tensile deformation), and C (for matrix: tensile and shear deformations). From force equilibrium and deformation compatibility in these four regions, an approximate closed-form solution for the stiffness of nanocomposites is derived. Using the data for MMT platelets and nylon 6 from Ref. [Fornes TD, Paul DR. Modeling properties of nylon 6/clay nanocomposites using composite theories. Polymer 2003;44:4993–5013], the stiffness and strength predicted give fair to good agreement, respectively, with test results.