The effect of graphene on the deflections of multiscale composites under thermo-mechanical loading

The present investigation aims to shed light on an important aspect of graphene reinforced multiscale composites that may appear in the form of reduced dimensional stability of the structure when exposed to thermal gradients. The study consists of two main parts: an extensive review of the related literature and a thermo-mechanical analysis of a laminated composite beam made of three-phases: arbitrary oriented Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNPs) embedded in an epoxy resin (ER) polymer matrix, reinforced with E-Glass fibers.

The review of related literature reveals that the problem of finding the equivalent coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) for multiscale composites is not as easy as the conventional composites, the trend is different, and more complicating parameters are involved. The analysis includes the predictions of the effective thermo-elastic properties of the multiscale composite laminate, based on Halpin-Tsai theory and hierarchy modeling, and the formulation of the beam deflection governing equation, based on Timoshenko nonlinear (large deflection) beam theory. Different GNPs weight fractions, different E-glass fiber volume fractions, and three lamination layups are investigated. It is found that the addition of GNPs increases the beam deflections when exposed to temperature gradients and that the laminate longitudinal CTE is the main factor responsible for this effect. (paper)