Abstract
<jats:p>A mathematical model of the carbon nanostructures dispersion during the mechanical activation of powder composite systems is presented. The developed model is based on an energy analysis of van der Waals interactions between carbon nanostructures, taking into account their morphology, arrangement, and number of graphene layers. An effective interaction constant proportional to the square of the number of layers is introduced, allowing for an adequate description of the strengthening of interparticle bonds and an assessment of the energy of agglomeration, deagglomeration, and attachment of carbon nanostructures to metal particles. The dependences of the time and energy of mechanical activation on the design parameters of the mixer-activator under constant operating conditions are determined. It is shown that for the “copper-carbon nanotube” system, effective destruction of agglomerates and distribution of carbon nanostructures is achieved at a rotation speed 85–90 min–1 and a processing time of 55–65 min. For the “copper – onion-shaped carbon nanostructures” system, the results were obtained at a rotation speed of 85–90 min–1 and a processing time of 35–40 min. It was found that the modeling results enable optimization of the process parameters for producing composite materials based on a metal matrix filled with carbon nanostructures.</jats:p>