Chain Model for Carbon Nanotube Bundle under Plane Strain Conditions

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have record high tensile strength and Young’s modulus, which makes them ideal for making super strong yarns, ropes, fillers for composites, solid lubricants, etc. The mechanical properties of CNT bundles have been addressed in a number of experimental and theoretical studies. The development of efficient computational methods for solving this problem is an important step in the design of new CNT-based materials. In the present study, an atomistic chain model is proposed to analyze the mechanical response of CNT bundles under plane strain conditions. The model takes into account the tensile and bending rigidity of the CNT wall, as well as the van der Waals interactions between walls. Due to the discrete character of the model, it is able to describe large curvature of the CNT wall and the fracture of the walls at very high pressures, where both of these problems are difficult to address in frame of continuum mechanics models. As an example, equilibrium structures of CNT crystal under biaxial, strain controlled loading are obtained and their thermal stability is analyzed. The obtained results agree well with previously reported data. In addition, a new equilibrium structure with four SNTs in a translational cell is reported. The model offered here can be applied with great efficiency to the analysis of the mechanical properties of CNT bundles composed of single-walled or multi-walled CNTs under plane strain conditions due to considerable reduction in the number of degrees of freedom.

Elastic Damper Based on the Carbon Nanotube Bundle

“…7(b) and (c), top row. Both these structures have been described in [61]. In this regime all CNTs have elliptic, non-collapsed cross section for all three loading schemes.…”

“…The Hamiltonian of the chain model employed in this study together with the model parameters can be found in [61]. It includes four terms,…”

“…The chain model has been developed in [55] in order to study structure and properties of secondary, van der Waals conformations of carbon nanoribbons, such as folds and scrolls [55][56][57][58][59] as well as dynamics of surface ripplocations [60]. The chain model has been adopted to the study of CNT bundles under lateral compression in plane strain conditions in the work [61].…”

“…In the present work, damping properties of the laterally compressed CNT bundle are analyzed in frame of the model developed in [61].…”

Mechanical Response of Carbon Nanotube Bundle to Lateral Compression

“…Here the mechanical properties of CNT bundle under lateral compression will be addressed in frames of the chain model offered in [69] and modified for the CNT bundle in [70]. The efficiency of the chain model in modelling secondary sp 2 -carbon structures such as folded and scrolled carbon nanoribbons has been demonstrated in a series of works [69][70][71][72][73][74][75].…”