Abstract Theoretical modeling and experimental validation for electro-shear behavior of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) embedded epoxy under quasi-static shear loading are performed. The theoretical modeling incorporates electron tunneling between CNTs and the electrical resistance change due to shear deformation of the epoxy matrix between CNTs. Two different contact types (head to head and overlap) and three different deformation connections (Type-I, Type-II, and Type-III) are considered to model the electrical network. Using the constitutive relations, the model relates the matrix deformation between the CNTs to the macroscale deformation of the composite. To validate the modeling results, experiments are performed using a four circumferential ring probe method. A parametric study is performed to investigate the effect of the total number of initial contact types, ratio of contact types, and number of potential Type-II deformation connections on electrical response. The theoretical predictions are validated with experiments for the first two stages of deformation and an optimal combination of deformation connections are obtained to have a close match with experimental findings.

中文翻译：

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碳纳米管嵌入环氧树脂纳米复合材料的电剪切行为的理论建模和实验验证

摘要 对碳纳米管 (CNT) 嵌入环氧树脂在准静态剪切载荷下的电剪切行为进行了理论建模和实验验证。理论模型结合了碳纳米管之间的电子隧道效应和由于碳纳米管之间环氧树脂基体的剪切变形而导致的电阻变化。考虑两种不同的接触类型（头对头和重叠）和三种不同的变形连接（I 型、II 型和 III 型）来模拟电气网络。使用本构关系，该模型将碳纳米管之间的基体变形与复合材料的宏观变形联系起来。为了验证建模结果，使用四圆周环探针方法进行实验。进行参数研究以研究初始接触类型的总数、接触类型的比率和潜在的 II 类变形连接数对电响应的影响。通过前两个变形阶段的实验验证了理论预测，并获得了与实验结果密切匹配的变形连接的最佳组合。