A quantitative study of the morphology of montmorillonite filled thermosets based on a tailor made homogenisation model

Thermoset/montmorillonite nanocomposites were fabricated and their elastic modulus was measured using experimental modal analysis. The morphology of the nanocomposite was considered as a distribution of several components: exfoliated clay platelets, intercalated clay layers, primary particles and clay agglomerates. A novel homogenisation model, which involves a five-phase sequence based on the Halpin-Tsai equations, was developed to calculate the elastic modulus of the nanocomposites. This model was then used to quantify the morphology of the nanocomposites by back calculating the exfoliation, intercalation and agglomeration fractions from the measured values of the elastic modulus. Additionally, this approach led to quantify the efficiency of the fabrication process, which proved to be optimal for 2.5% clay content.