3 papers
cond-mat.soft2025
Glassy interphases reinforce elastomeric nanocomposites by enhancing percolation-driven volume expansion under strain
Pierre Kawak, Harshad Bhapkar, David S. Simmons
For nearly a century, introduction of nanoparticles to elastomers has yielded extraordinarily tough nanocomposites that are critical to technologies from actuators to tires. The me…
cond-mat.soft2025
On the origin of heating-induced softening and enthalpic reinforcement in elastomeric nanocomposites
Pierre Kawak, Harshad Bhapkar, David S. Simmons
Despite a century of use, the mechanism of nanoparticle-driven mechanical reinforcement of elastomers is unresolved. A major hypothesis attributes it to glassy interparticle bridge…
cond-mat.soft2024
Central role of filler-polymer interplay in nonlinear reinforcement of elastomeric nanocomposites
Pierre Kawak, Harshad Bhapkar, David S. Simmons
Nanoparticles can greatly enhance the mechanical response of elastomeric polymers essential to a wide range of applications, yet their precise molecular mechanisms of high-strain r…