Abstract
Purpose – This article focuses on the low-velocity impact (LVI) output of carbon nanotubes (CNTs)’
reinforcement circular plates, considering agglomeration size effect and clumping of CNTs’ inner side of the
agglomerations.
Design/methodology/approach – A representative volume element (RVE) is used to determine the
nanocomposite properties reinforced with agglomerated CNTs with random orientation. First-order shear
deformation theory (FSDT) is used to obtain the motion equations of LVI analysis. These equations are handled
by developing a Ritz method and Lagrangian mechanics. To extract the mass and stiffness matrices, terms
with second and higher degrees are ignored.
Findings – Formulation validation is performed by providing various examples, including comparisons with
other research and ABAQUS FE code. The effects of agglomeration size, clumping of CNTs’ inner side of the
agglomerations, CNT volume fraction and impact location on the responses of impact load, projectile
displacement and plate deflection are analytically studied. These achievements illuminate how the influence of
agglomeration size is very small on the impact response. Also, the influence of clumping of CNTs’ inner side of
the agglomerations is significant, and as it increases, the displacement values and impact time increase, and the
impact force decreases.
Originality/value – In this article, to avoid additional calculations, the parameters of the mass matrix and the
stiffness coefficients are linearized to obtain the equations of motion of the impact on the circular plate.