With the collaboration of Iran Polymer Society

Document Type : Original research

Authors

1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, DKTE TEI, Ichalkaranji and Shivaji University, Kolhapur

2 Associate Professor, Department of Production Engineering, Shri Guru Gobind Singhji Institute of Engineering and Technology, Vishnupuri, Nanded (Maharashtra State) INDIA 431606

Abstract

The growing need for enhanced materials has led to the development of nanocomposites, which have shown great potential in various industries. However, optimizing the composition of these materials to achieve the best mechanical performance and cost-effectiveness remains a challenge. This research addresses this challenge by employing a virtual experimental approach, utilizing Digimat for material modeling and CATIA for Design and Finite Element Analysis (FEA). This approach allows for the simulation and analysis of different nanocomposite compositions without the need for costly and time-consuming physical experiments. The study focuses on Polypropylene (PP) and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) based nanocomposites with graphene and carbon black reinforcements. The research investigates the impact of varying the weight percentages of these nanofillers on the mechanical properties of the composites. The PP/PVC blends are created in different weight ratios to provide further compositional control. The material preparation is carried out in Digimat, where the properties of the composites are defined using a micromechanical model. The FEA is then conducted in CATIA, where a standard ASTM D638 tensile specimen is simulated under controlled conditions. The results are validated by varying mesh sizes to optimize deflection and Von Mises stress predictions. Furthermore, an economic analysis is conducted to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the different nanocomposite compositions. The study highlights the importance of virtual experimentation in material science, as it allows for efficient exploration of various material compositions and reduces the need for physical prototyping. This approach accelerates the material development process and enables the optimization of material design for specific applications. The virtual trials explored alternatives to PVC using PP-based composites reinforced with graphene/carbon black. PP/PVC 40/60 reinforced with 1.5% wt. graphene (P4V6G15) and reinforced with 7.5% wt. carbon black (P4V6C75) showed 31.6% and 31.2% deflection reductions compared to pure PP, respectively. These results show that P4V6 blends, especially those with graphene or high carbon black concentrations, serve as promising alternatives to conventional PVC. Among them, P4V6C75 stands out by offering the best overall mechanical performance. It also provides the lowest production cost. In terms of economic favorability, P4V6C75 is approximately 2.55 times more cost-effective than the graphene-based blend P4V6G15. This combination of high performance and low cost makes P4V6C75 the most suitable candidate for PVC replacement.

Keywords

Main Subjects

  1. Patil UA, Kubade PR (2024) The importance of alternative materials to PVC and effective plastic waste management strategies for a better future. In: Advancements in materials processing technology, R. Sahu, R. Krishna, R. Prasad (Eds.), Vol 2, 127-136 [CrossRef]
  2. Patil UA, Kubade PR (2024) Exploring health risks of PVC and investigating potential alternatives through mechanical analysis and simulation. J Inst Eng (India) - C 105: 1571-1580 [CrossRef]
  3. Patil UA, Kubade PR (2023) Recent advances in ternary blends of nanocomposite and their impact on the mechanical and thermal properties: A review. In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Applications of Machine Intelligence and Data Analytics. [CrossRef]
  4. Painkal SK, Balachandran M, Jayanarayanan K, Sridhar N, Kumar S (2025) Synergistic enhancement in mechanical properties of graphene/MWCNT reinforced polyaryletherketone – carbon fiber multi-scale composites: Experimental studies and finite element analysis. Adv Ind Eng Polym Res 8: 20-36 [CrossRef]
  5. Chaudhary N, Dikshit M (2021) A state of art review on the graphene and carbon nanotube reinforced nanocomposites: A molecular dynamics approach. Mater Today 47: 3235-3241[CrossRef]
  6. Patra SC, Swain S, Senapati P, Sahu H, Murmu R, Sutar H (2022) Polypropylene and graphene nanocomposites: Effects of selected 2D-nanofiller’s plate sizes on fundamental physicochemical properties. Inventions 8: 8 [CrossRef]
  7. Innes JR, Young RJ, Papageorgiou DG (2022) Graphene nanoplatelets as a replacement for carbon black in rubber compounds. Polymers 14: 1204 [CrossRef]
  8. Farida E, Bukit N, Ginting EM, Bukit BF (2019) The effect of carbon black composition in natural rubber compound. Case Stud Therm Eng 16: 100566 [CrossRef]
  9. Kim BJ, White JL (2004) Compatibilized blends of PVC/PA12 and PVC/PP containing poly(lauryl lactam‐block‐caprolactone). J Appl Polym Sci 91: 1983-1992 [CrossRef]
  10. Toprakci O, Akcay AT, Toprakci HAK (2024) Enhancing calendering process conditions by blending poly(vinyl chloride) with polyethylene, polypropylene and poly(methyl methacrylate). Mater Sci Res India 21: 210203 [CrossRef]
  11. Al-Arbash A, Al-Sagheer F, Ali A, Ahmad Z (2005) Thermal and mechanical properties of poly(hydroxy-imide)-silica nanocomposites. Int J Polym Mater 55: 103-120 [CrossRef]
  12. Murthe SS, Sreekantan S, Mydin RBSMN (2022) Study on the physical, thermal and mechanical properties of SEBS/PP (styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene/polypropylene) blend as a medical fluid bag. Polymers 14: 3267 [CrossRef]
  13. Samira M, Ahmed M, Nadia N, Mohamed S, Rachida Z (2013) Thermal and mechanical properties of PVC and PVC-HDPE blends. Res Rev J Mater Sci 1: 6-11 [CrossRef]
  14. Trzepieciński T, Ryzińska G, Biglar M, Gromada M (2017) Modelling of multilayer actuator layers by homogenisation technique using Digimat software. Ceramics Int 43: 3259-3266 [CrossRef]
  15. Nayak B, Sahu RK (2019) Experimental and Digimat-FE based representative volume element analysis of exceptional graphene flakes/aluminium alloy nanocomposite characteristics. Mater Res Exp 6: 116593 [CrossRef]
  16. Landervik M, Jergeus J (2015) Digimat material model for short fiber reinforced plastics at Volvo Car Corporation. In: 10th European LS-DYNA Conference.
  17. Magidov I, Mikhaylovskiy K, Shalnova S, Topalov I, Gushchina M, Zherebtsov S, Klimova-Korsmik O (2023) Prediction and Experimental Evaluation of Mechanical Properties of SiC-Reinforced Ti-4.25Al-2V Matrix Composites Produced by Laser Direct Energy Deposition. Materials 16: 5233 [CrossRef]
  18. Kumar SA, Narayan YS (2019) Tensile testing and evaluation of 3D-printed PLA specimens as per ASTM D638 type IV standard. Lecture Notes in: Innovative Design, Analysis and Development Practices in Aerospace and Automotive Engineering (I-DAD 2018), Chandrasekhar U, Yang LJ, Gowthaman S (eds), Springer, pp: 79-95 [CrossRef]
  19. Chang KH, Choi KK (1992) An error analysis and mesh adaptation method for shape design of structural components. Comput Struct 44: 1275-1289 [CrossRef]
  20. Jalammanavar K, Pujar N, Raj RV (2018) Finite element study on mesh discretization error estimation for Ansys workbench. In: 2018 International Conference on Computational Techniques, Electronics and Mechanical Systems (CTEMS): 344-350 [CrossRef]
  21. Sanjaya Y, Prabowo AR, Imaduddin F, Binti Nordin NA (2021) Design and analysis of mesh size subjected to wheel rim convergence using finite element method. Procedia Structural Integrity 33: 51-58 [CrossRef] 10.1016/j.prostr.2021.10.008
  22. Sahu SK, Sreekanth PR (2023) Evaluation of tensile properties of spherical shaped SiC inclusions inside recycled HDPE matrix using FEM based representative volume element approach. Heliyon 9: e14034 [CrossRef]
  23. Sahu SK, Sreekanth PR, Devaraj S, Kumar VR, Phanden RK, Saxena KK, Ma Q (2024) Assessment of mechanical properties by RVE modeling and simulation of recycled HDPE reinforced with carbon nanotubes. Int J Int Des Manuf (IJIDeM) 19: 2143-2157 [CrossRef]
  24. Badgayan ND, Sahu SK, Samanta S, Sreekanth PR (2018) Assessment of bulk mechanical properties of HDPE hybrid composite filled with 1D/2D nanofiller system. Mater Sci Forum 917: 12-16 [CrossRef]
  25. Yesaswi CS, Sahu SK, Sreekanth PR (2022) Experimental investigation of electro-mechanical behavior of silver-coated teflon fabric-reinforced nafion ionic polymer metal composite with carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoparticles. Polymers 14: 5497 [CrossRef]
  26. Pradhan S, Sahu SK, Pramanik J, Badgayan ND (2022) An insight into mechanical & thermal properties of shape memory polymer reinforced with nanofillers; a critical review. Mater Today 50: 1107-1112 [CrossRef]
  27. Sanaka R, Sahu S, Sreekanth PR, Giri J, Mohammad F, Al-Lohedan HA, Saharudin MS, Ma Q (2025) Heat-responsive PLA/PU/MXene shape memory polymer blend nanocomposite: Mechanical, thermal, and shape memory properties. Polymers 17: 338 [CrossRef]
  28. Zhao X, Huang D, Ewulonu C, Wu M, Wang C, Huang Y (2021) Polypropylene/graphene nanoplatelets nanocomposites with high conductivity via solid-state shear mixing. e-Polymers 21: 520-532 [CrossRef]