Paper Title
Modelling and Simulation of Gaseous Diffusion Through Biodegradable Polymer Nano Composites

Abstract
To overcome the technological challenges in food packaging industry, it is important to understand the structure-property relationship in a polymer nanocomposite. The conventional plastics (PET) are being replaced by the biodegradable plastics such as Polylactic Acid (PLA) - Montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposites. The PLA-MMT nanocomposite doped with silver nanoparticles has been simulated and analysed for the oxygen diffusion barrier. The simulation tested the polymer nanocomposite for its oxygen diffusion barrier action using COMSOL Multiphysics and applying suitable boundary conditions. The silver nanoparticles are doped with an intention of capturing the microbes which include pathogenic bacteria. This helps us in keeping the food fresh and free from microorganisms. It was observed from the simulation results that thickness of the polymer is not the only factor affects the diffusivity of the oxygen. It was also found that the structural parameters that include volume fraction (φ), aspect ratio (α), intercalation width (W), and orientation angle (θ) of nanoparticles play an important role in the oxygen diffusion barrier property of the nanocomposite. Keywords— Nanocomposites, Biodegradable, Food Packaging, Oxygen Diffusion.