Influence of boundary conditions and defects on the buckling behavior of SWCNTs via a structural mechanics approach

Abstract

The effects of boundary conditions and defects on the buckling behavior of SWCNTs are investigated using a structural mechanics model. Due to the application of carbon nanotubes in different fields such as NEMS, where they are subjected to different loading and boundary conditions, an investigation of buckling behavior of nanotubes with different boundary conditions is necessary. Critical buckling loads and the effects of vacancy and Stone-Wales defects were studied for zigzag and armchair nanotubes with various boundary conditions and aspect ratios (length/diameter). The comparison of our results with those of the buckling of shells with cutouts indicates that vacancy defects in carbon nanotubes can most likely be modeled as cutouts of the shells. Finally, a hybrid vacancy defect and Stone-Wales defect are also developed, and their effect on the critical buckling loads is studied. Copyright 2011 Vali Parvaneh et al.