Evaluating the Effect of Interface Shape on the fracture properties of Cellulose Nanocrystal (CNC) Nano-Films

Abstract

Crystalline nanocellulose (CNC) is a new promising green material that gained significant attention in the past decade. This study evaluates the effects of pattern interfaces on the fracture toughness in naturally joined double cantilever beam of crystalline nanocellulose (CNC) nanofilms. Three different patterns, e.i., triangular, trapezoidal and circular with different geometric properties were considered and compared with flat (no pattern) interface. We use a multiscale framework by using adhesion and elastic properties are nanoscale from molecular dynamics and upscale the values to the properties of cohesive element in finite element framework. The result shows that pattern interfaces significantly improve the toughness of CNC nanofilms. In particular, trapezoidal interface increase the fracture toughness by 140%.