Due to the superior performances of nanosilica particles, this research has been designed to study their effects on the mechanical and trigological properties of a PVA/PAM polymer composite by a molecular dynamics simulation method. To realize the research objectives mentioned above, the molecular models of amorphous cells and sandwiched friction models for pure polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/polyacrylamide (PAM) (component weight ratio is 1:1) and PVA/PAM/nanosilica (component weight ratio is 5.75:5.75:1) polymer composites were constructed and simulated, respectively. The simulation results of the mechanical properties show increases about 31.6% in the bulk modulus, 53.1% in the shear modulus, and 50.1% in the Young’s modulus by incorporating a nanosilica particle into a pure PVA/PAM polymer composite. Meanwhile, the changes in Cauchy pressure, B/G ratio, and Poisson’s ratio values indicate that incorporating a nanosilica particle into pure PVA/PAM weakened the ductility of the composite. Incorporating a nanosilica particle into a pure PVA/PAM composite also showed a decrease about 28.2% in the abrasion rates and relative concentration distributions of polymer molecules in the final friction models. Additionally, the binding energy and the pair correlation functions between a nanosilica particle and the polymer chains in a cubic cell demonstrate that incorporating nanosilica into PVA/PAM polymer composites improves the internal binding strength between different components through the forming hydrogen bonds. As a result, the mechanical and tribological properties of PVA/PAM polymer composites can be enhanced by incorporating nanosilica particles.
Evaluating the Effects of Nanosilica on Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Polyvinyl Alcohol/Polyacrylamide Polymer Composites for Artificial Cartilage from an Atomic Level