Abstract:
This thesis contains a non-destructive process of determining structural and mechanical
properties of a promising composite material named PLA-CNT. Polylactic Acid (PLA)
is widely used in 3D printing (additive manufacturing) technology and biomedical
industry. In order to perform molecular dynamics simulation PLA is modeled and
packed in Materials Studio software package and validated in terms of Young’s
modulus against mechanical testing value found in published literature of Kamthai and
Magaraphan (2016). This PLA model is incorporated with CNT reinforcement and
undergone molecular dynamics simulation of uniaxial tensile deformation through
LAMMPS software package. Simulation resulted in significant improvement of
mechanical properties such as Young’s modulus, tensile strength in PLA-CNT
composite over PLA. Thus, enhanced mechanical property of raw material will result
in similar enhancement in printed model.
