On the parameters influencing the effective properties of a piezoelectric nanocomposite film employing FEM

Characterization of the effective elasto-piezoelectric properties of a special class of nanocomposites is the subject of this article. The piezonanocomposites of interest are thin films of non-piezoelectric polymer reinforced with a row of piezoelectric boron nitride nanotubes. The boron nitride nanotubes are unidirectionally aligned but randomly distributed in the piezonanocomposite films. The characterization methodology relies primarily on the finite element simulations of the representative volume elements from the piezonanocomposites. Decoupling the coupled constitutive elasto-piezoelectric equations and double checking criteria for the evaluation of the effective properties are two highlights of the methodology. Sensitivity analyses are carried out to achieve the appropriate representative volume elements size. As influencing parameters, the effects of the boron nitride nanotubes volume fraction and aspect ratio on the overall effective properties are investigated. Additionally, different physical properties are assigned to the space inside nanotubes and their impacts on the effective properties are examined. The calculated effective properties are compared to the ones output by three different analytical approaches as well as the results of similar studies on conventional piezocomposites. The agreements observed corroborate the final results as well as the proposed methodology to be applied to similar problems.