Evaluation of methods for stiffness predictions of polymer/clay nanocomposites

This article presents a critical review and evaluation of several mechanics models which are commonly used for elastic stiffness predictions of polymer/clay nanocomposites (PCNs). In particular, the assumptions and limitations of these models and formulas were examined. Stiffness predictions were compared to published data in order to assess their applicability and effectiveness to real PCNs. Whilst a more complex model can achieve better agreement with experimental data, more parameters, which must be obtained by separate independent tests, are always required. This may lead to increasing errors for model applications. It is shown that meso-mechanics models due to Mori-Tanaka, Ji et al. and Luo-Daniel give the best overall predictions, with due consideration of the dispersion and orientation effects of the platelets embedded in a polymer matrix.