Numerical investigation of polymer coated nanoporous gold

Journal
Materials  
Volume
12
Start Page
Art.-Nr. 2178
Citation
Materials 12 (13): 2178 (2019)
Publisher DOI
10.3390/ma12132178
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85068845251
Publisher
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Nanoporous metals represent a fascinating class of materials. They consist of a bi-continuous three-dimensional network of randomly intersecting pores and ligaments where the ligaments form the skeleton of the structure. The open-pore structure allows for applying a thin electrolytic coating on the ligaments. In this paper, we will investigate the stiffening effect of a polymer coating numerically. Since the coating adds an additional difficulty for the discretization of the microstructure by finite elements, we apply the finite cell method. This allows for deriving a mesh in a fully automatic fashion from the high resolution 3D voxel model stemming from the 3D focused ion beam-scanning electron microscope tomography data of nanoporous gold. By manipulating the voxel model in a straightforward way, we add a thin polymer layer of homogeneous thickness numerically and study its effect on the macroscopic elastic properties systematically. In order to lower the influence of the boundary conditions on the results, the window method, which is known from homogenization procedures, is applied. In the second part of the paper, we fill the gap between numerical simulations and experimental investigations and determine real material properties of an electrolytic applied polypyrrole coating by inverse computations. The simulations provide an estimate for the mechanical properties of the ligaments and the polymeric coating and are in accordance with experimental data.
Subjects
nanoporous gold
polymer coating
finite cell method
window method
DDC Class
540: Chemie
620: Ingenieurwissenschaften
Funding(s)
Open Access Publizieren 2018 - 2019 / TU Hamburg  
SFB 986, Teilproject B4 - Mikromechanisches Materialverhalten hierarchischer Werkstoffe
SFB 986: Teilprojekt B2 - Feste und leichte Hybridwerkstoffe auf Basis nanoporöser Metalle
More Funding Information
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)