Mechanical Characterisation of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Heterojunctions: Numerical Simulation Study

Abstract

The elastic properties of single-walled carbon nanotube heterojunctions were investigated using conventional tensile, bending and torsion tests. A three-dimensional finite element model was built in order to describe the elastic behaviour of cone heterojunctions (armchair–armchair and zigzag–zigzag). This comprehensive systematic study, to evaluate the tensile, bending and torsional rigidities of heterojunctions, enabled the formulation analytical methods for easy assessment of the elastic properties of heterojunctions using a wide range of their geometrical parameters.

Numerical Modelling of the Mechanical Behaviour of Carbon and Non-Carbon Nanotubes and Their Complex Structures

“…This Special Issue, comprised of a total of five research articles, is dedicated to recent developments in the modelling and numerical simulation of the mechanical properties of graphene sheets [ 1 ]; CNTs and their complex structures [ 2 , 3 ], such as heterojunctions [ 4 ]; and, to conclude, boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) [ 5 ], on which, among other N-CNTs, strong research efforts have been produced so far. The first study by Wang et al [ 1 ] deals with the molecular dynamic (MD) simulation of the Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) nanoindentation test performed on a single-layer wrinkled graphene sheet to extract its mechanical properties.…”

“…The research article of Pereira et al [ 4 ] is dedicated to correctly describing the deformation behaviour of SWCNT heterojunctions (HJs), whose structure can be understood as that of two SWCNTs connected by an intermediate region. Therefore, a systematic characterisation of the mechanical properties of armchair–armchair and zigzag–zigzag SWCNT HJs was performed.…”

“…As a result, analytical methods were formulated for easy assessment of the elastic properties of HJs, in a wide range of their geometrical parameters. As the strength and productivity of the nanodevices and nanosystems strongly depend on the mechanical properties of their components, and CNT HJs are potential candidates for such applications, the work by Pereira et al [ 4 ] represents a substantial contribution to the knowledge on the elastic behaviour of CNTs-based structures.…”