Abstract Carbon black (CB) spherical particles were added to poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) polymer to produce strong synthetic tissue scaffolds for biomedical applications. The objective of this paper is to study the mechanical behavior of CB/PCL-based nanocomposites using experimental tests, multi-scale numerical approaches, and analytical models. The mechanical properties of CB/PCL scaffolds were characterized using thermal mechanical analysis and results show a significant increase of the elastic modulus with increasing nanofiller concentration up to 7 wt%. Conversely, finite element computations were performed using a simulated microstructure, and a numerical model based on the representative volume element (RVE) was generated. Thereafter, Young's moduli were computed using a 3D numerical homogenization technique. The approach takes into consideration CB particles’ diameters, as well as their random distribution and agglomerations into PCL. Experimental results were compared with data obtained using numerical approaches and analytical models. Consistency in the results was observed, especially in the case of lower CB fractions.

中文翻译：

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炭黑/聚（ε-己内酯）基组织支架的机械性能

摘要 将炭黑 (CB) 球形颗粒添加到聚 (e-己内酯) (PCL) 聚合物中以生产用于生物医学应用的强合成组织支架。本文的目的是使用实验测试、多尺度数值方法和分析模型研究基于 CB/PCL 的纳米复合材料的力学行为。CB/PCL 支架的机械性能使用热力学分析进行表征，结果表明，随着纳米填料浓度增加至 7 wt%，弹性模量显着增加。相反，使用模拟的微观结构进行有限元计算，并生成基于代表性体积元素 (RVE) 的数值模型。此后，使用 3D 数值均质化技术计算杨氏模量。该方法考虑了 CB 颗粒的直径，以及它们的随机分布和聚集成 PCL。实验结果与使用数值方法和分析模型获得的数据进行了比较。观察到结果的一致性，尤其是在 CB 分数较低的情况下。