Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 January 2018
Epoxy is widely used as structural adhesive for bonded material systems in aerospace, construction, microelectronics and other industrial applications. In order to achieve better performance, carbon nanotubes are often applied as reinforced additives due to the extraordinary mechanical properties. The resulting carbon nanotube-reinforced epoxy has presented enhancement in the bonding strength and durability during long-term sustained loading. However, the bonded material systems in reality usually suffer from different ambient environments, especially varying temperature conditions. The evaluation of temperature effect on creep responses at the interface between epoxy adhesive and substrate becomes an essential issue. The investigation is conducted using molecular dynamics simulations to study the interfacial creep behavior in the bilayer system containing carbon nanotube-reinforced epoxy and silica substrate. The simulation results show the atomistic movement at the interface region under constant loading at various temperature levels, and indicate the improved properties with the addition of carbon nanotubes in epoxy matrix. The study enriches the understanding of temperature effect on the interfacial creep behavior at the atomic level, and provides promising predictions and guidelines for the design of composite materials in long-term applications.