Permeability and conductivity of platelet-reinforced membranes and composites

We present large scale simulations of the diffusion constant $D$ of a random composite consisting of aligned platelets with aspect ratio $a/b>>1$ in a matrix (with diffusion constant $D_0$) and find that $D/D_0 = 1/(1+ c_1 x + c_2 x^2)$, where $x= a v_f/b$ and $v_f$ is the platelet volume fraction. We demonstrate that for large aspect ratio platelets the pair term ($x^2$) dominates suggesting large property enhancements for these materials. However a small amount of face-to-face ordering of the platelets markedly degrades the efficiency of platelet reinforcement.Comment: RevTeX, 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PR