Nonlinear dynamic analysis of FG carbon nanotube/epoxy nanocomposite cylinder with large strains assuming particle/matrix interphase using MLPG method

In this paper, a first known study on the large deformation dynamic behavior of functionally graded carbon nanotube-reinforced (CNTR) nanocomposite cylinder considering the particle/matrix interphase property is presented. The geometrically nonlinear dynamic analysis is carried out using the meshless local Petrov–Galerkin (MLPG) method based on the total Lagrangian approach. The obtained nonlinear time dependent equations are solved using the incremental-iterative Newmark/Newton–Raphson technique. The effective properties of CNTR cylinder is evaluated by employing the three-phase Halpin–Tsai model and rule of mixture. In these models, three constituent phases including nanoparticle, interphase and matrix is considered. It is assumed that CNTs is dispersed in the resin matrix with four different function along the radial direction to obtain the optimum grading pattern. The effects of interphase properties, CNT's weight fraction, CNT distribution pattern and volume fraction exponent on the dynamic characteristics of the cylinder are discussed in details. Numerical results demonstrated the high performance of the proposed MLPG method for geometrically nonlinear dynamic analysis of functionally graded carbon nanotube/epoxy nanocomposites due to its advantage in eliminating the mesh distortion and high capability in FG material modeling. Moreover, it is found that the interphase properties may dramatically affect the dynamic behavior of nanocomposite cylinder especially at the higher CNT volume fractions. So, it is important to consider the interphase properties to correctly model the nanocomposite structures.