Effect of CNT Agglomeration on the Electrical Conductivity and Percolation Threshold of Nanocomposites: A Micromechanics-based Approach

Abstract

The addition of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to a matrix material is expected to lead to an increase in the effective electrical properties of nanocomposites. However, a CNT entanglement caused by the matrix viscosity and the high aspect ratio of the nanotubes often inhibits the formation of a conductive network. In the present study, the micromechanics-based model is utilized to investigate the effect of CNT agglomeration on the electrical conductivity and percolation threshold of nanocomposites. A series of parametric studies considering various shapes and curviness distributions of CNTs are carried out to examine the effects of entanglement on the electrical performance of nanocomposites. Comparisons between experimental results and the present predictions are made to evaluate the predictive capability of the proposed model. In addition, the present model is incorporated into the commercial finite element software ANSYS HFSS to simulate the electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness of nanocomposites.