Mechanical properties of carbon nanotube reinforced ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) have been shown to enhance the engineering properties of plastic fibers in ballistic-resistant garments enabling the garments to withstand very high impact forces while remaining to be lightweight. Previous study shows that by reinforcing ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers with a small amount of carbon nanotubes, the fibers are simultaneously toughened and strengthened. In this paper, we study the mechanical properties of carbon nanotube reinforced ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) by using micromechanics-based Mori-Tanaka model. Results show that the addition of small amount of carbon nanotubes as reinforcement can substantially improve the mechanical properties of the UHMWPE fibers