Fiber strain relief

An interesting question arises considering composites with multiwalled carbon nanotubes. In such materials there are two possible ways of stress relief upon mechanical strain On one hand, like in other fiber-reinforced composites, the interfacial interaction may be overcome by the mechanical forces so the polymer peels from the nanotubes. On the other hand, however, the individual walls of the MWNT may slide one inside another like a sword in a sheath (so-called interwaU sliding. Figure 3.85). Both effects may occur to varying extents depending on how strongly the multiwalled tubes are bound to the matrix. 

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