Session: 12-02-02: Modeling of the Fracture, Failure, and Fatigue in Solids

Paper Number: 112670

112670 - Impact on Wrinkled Graphene 

Weight reduction is a critical requirement for the development of military weapons. As a result, the development of lightweight structural materials has been a high-priority research topic for various defense research agencies worldwide, including the U.S. Department of Defense. Among the various proposed lightweight materials, carbon nanostructures such as graphene and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have emerged as leading candidates due to their remarkable mechanical strength, exceptional transport properties, and porous architectures. The potential practical applications of carbon nanostructures in defense are numerous. For instance, their lightweight and robust properties make them suitable for use as body material for military vehicles, significantly improving their fuel efficiency and speed capability. Additionally, the thermal conductivity of carbon nanostructures makes them ideal for use in brake systems of military vehicles, enhancing the braking performance and prolonging the brake's lifespan. To further understand the behavior of carbon nanostructures under high strain rate impacts, we conducted molecular dynamics simulations in this study. Specifically, we investigated various carbon nanostructures, including single-layer graphene, few-layer graphene, and three-dimensional (3D) carbon nanostructures composed of CNT and graphene. Amongst 3D carbon nanostructures, pillared graphene structures with various pillar heights and interpillar distances are simulated. We designed a silver particle with varying sizes and shapes to impact these carbon nanostructures at predetermined speeds. We calculated the amount of energy absorbed during the impact by measuring the change in the kinetic energy of the silver particle before and after the collision. We modeled the interaction between silver atoms using the embedded atom method (EAM) potential, while the interaction between carbon atoms in the carbon nanostructures was modeled using the Adaptive Intermolecular Reactive Empirical Bond Order (AIREBO) potential. Finally, we modeled the interaction between silver atoms and carbon atoms using the Lennard-Jones potential. Our simulations revealed that 3D carbon nanostructures composed of graphene and CNT possess better fracture toughness than single-layer graphene due to their flexible CNT-graphene junctions. The pure sp2 bonds in these junctions increase the overall structure's flexibility, leading to better mechanical performance under high strain impact compared to 3D carbon nanostructures with mixed sp2/sp3 bonds. Furthermore, graphene's excellent mechanical properties enable it to remain structurally intact even under high strain rate impact, while its outstanding thermal management capabilities help dissipate most of the thermal energy throughout the material, minimizing the chances of any structural damage. The results obtained from our research study will contribute to the accelerated development of futuristic, strong, lightweight materials for military applications.

Presenting Author: Asher Flanagan Kennesaw State University

Presenting Author Biography: Asher Flanagan is an undergraduate student researcher at Kennesaw State University.

Authors:

Asher Flanagan Kennesaw State University
Jungkyu Park Kennesaw State University