Buckling Behavior of Carbon Nanotube under Bending
Yoji SHIBUTANI
Abstract:A carbon nanotube has so extremely high tensile rigidity that engineering applications of it have recently been expected. Although many reports concerned with its physical and chemical properties have been published, there are not enough studies on mechanical properties inevitable for future design. Our recent paper on the molecular dynamics studies shows that the Young's modulus of a single-walled tube is about 0.5 Tpa. And a cantilever-type tube responds irreversibly to the following lateral load hysteresis due to the topological transition after buckling. It is found that there is geometrical similarity of the buckling shape between the atomic-scaled tube with nanometer-order and the macroscopic titanium tube with millimeter-order. Therefore, the mechanical behaviors may be summarized using the continuum formula of the buckling under bending. In the present paper, the buckling stresses of the cantilever-type tubes are estimated from the relation between the bending moment and the curvature of the deformed tube. The effect of cantilever length on them is further investigated. Key Words:Carbon nanotube, Molecular dynamics, Bending deformation, Buckling, Critical bending stress, Structural integrity