Predicting tensile and fracture parameters in polypropylene-based nanocomposites using machine learning with sensitivity analysis and feature impact evaluation

Abstract

This study examines the efficacy of decision tree and AdaBoost algorithms in predicting mechanical and fracture parameters of polypropylene nanocomposites toughened with ethylene-based and propylene-based thermoplastic elastomers and reinforced with fumed silica and halloysite nanotube nanoparticles. The essential work of the fracture approach was utilized to study the fracture parameters, including elastic and plastic works of the blended polymer nanocomposites. The data were divided into 80 % for training and 20 % for testing. AdaBoost consistently achieved superior performance compared to the decision tree model in all variables throughout both the training and testing stages. During the testing phase, the AdaBoost model obtained R² values of 0.90 for Young's modulus, 0.93 for elongation at break, 0.87 for tensile strength, 0.86 for plastic work, and 0.60 for elastic work. Also, the mean absolute percentage error for the AdaBoost model during the test phase was 3.10 % for Young's modulus, 3.25 % for tensile strength, 10.34 % for elastic work, 13.55 % for plastic work, and 24.78 % for elongation at break. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis examining the effects of various features such as TPO type, nanoparticles, and nanoparticle type on mechanical properties reveals that TPO has the most significant overall influence. The results also include an analysis of the impact of the key features on each mechanical property based on the sensitivity analysis.