Modeling of Tensile Modulus for Recycled PET/Clay Nanocomposites

Abstract: The present study is devoted to tensile modulus of recycle PET/claynanocomposites based on the various conventional models. Some models such asPaul and Takayanagi provide good results, when compared with the experimentaldata. Hirsch model predicts more accurate data by the x value of 0.1 revealing that the tensile modulus of currentnanocomposites conforms to the inverse rule of mixture model. The comparisonbetween experimental and theoretical results of Guth models confirm thenecessity for taking account of stiffening factors such as aspect ratio ofsilicate layers. The theoretical data present a good agreement with experimentaldata considering the aspect ratio of 8 for silicate layers. In addition, theorientation and 3D random dispersion of the nanoclay platelets should be assumedaccording to Halpin–Tsai model. Further, some simplifications and modificationsare carried out on the several models to enhance their predictability. Themodified models are too simple, because they only require to Young’s modulus andvolume fraction of components for prediction.