Modelling the mechanical characteristics of carbon nanotubes: A nonlocal differential approach

Abstract

Computational modelling of the mechanical characteristics of carbon nanotubes forms one of the most intensively studied topics in the nanomechanics field. The underlying motivation for this interest is evident. Carbon nanotubes, due to their unique and exotic mechanical properties, play a pivotal role in nanoscience and in all fields of nanotechnology, and in materials science and technology. A thorough understanding of their mechanical characteristics, including their static deformation properties, their buckling and vibrational behaviour, is therefore crucial for the design and construction of nanodevices. Owing to the extensive research output pertinent to the use of the nonlocal approach in modelling the mechanics of carbon nanotubes, we have divided the material in this chapter into two subsections; with the first subsection providing the mechanical characteristics of large aspect ratio SWCNTs, which are modelled using the nonlocal beam theories, while in the second subsection, we employ the nonlocal shell models to theoretically study the mechanical behaviour of carbon nanotubes. In the present chapter, we use the nonlocal differential approach owing to its wide and successful use in solving various mechanical problems related to carbon nanotubes. Some challenges facing the applications of the nonlocal differential approach to carbon nanotubes will be discussed in Chap. 12.