A modified Weibull model for tensile strength distribution of carbon nanotube fibers with strain rate and size effects

Fundamental studies on the effects of strain rate and size on the distribution of tensile strength of carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers are reported in this paper. Experimental data show that the mechanical strength of CNT fibers increases from 0.2 to 0.8 GPa as the strain rate increases from 0.00001 to 0.1 (1/s). In addition, the influence of fiber diameter at low and high strain rate conditions was investigated further with statistical analysis. A modified Weibull distribution model for characterizing the tensile strength distribution of CNT fibers taking into account the effect of strain rate and fiber diameter is proposed.