Nonlinear modeling of carbon nanotube composites dissipation due to interfacial stick–slip

•Stick–slip in carbon nanotube composites described by elastoplastic model.•Eshelby–Mori–Tanaka homogenization using the plastic eigenstrain concept.•Hysteretic energy dissipation optimized in terms of constitutive parameters.•Damping capacity optimization obtained via differential evolution algorithm.

A nonlinear constitutive theory is proposed to describe and characterize the hysteretic elastoplastic response of nanocomposite materials caused by the inelastic shear stick–slip between carbon nanotubes and the surrounding matrix. The theory combines the mean-field homogenization method based on the Eshelby equivalent inclusion theory, the Mori–Tanaka homogenization approach, and the concept of inhomogeneous inclusions affected by inelastic eigenstrains. The shear stick–slip is accounted for as an incremental plastic eigenstrain in the inclusions. The evolution of the introduced plastic eigenstrain is regulated by a constitutive law based on a micromechanical adjustment of the von Mises function based on the interfacial stress discontinuity. Parametric studies show that the investigated carbon nanotube composites can exhibit superior damping capacities by determining optimal nano/micro-scale constitutive parameters to maximize the nanofrictional energy dissipation.