Torsional elastic instability of double-walled carbon nanotubes

In this paper, a theoretical analysis of the torsional buckling instability of double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) and the DWCNTs embedded in an elastic medium is presented based on the continuum elastic shell model and Winkler spring model. Using the proposed theoretical approach, the influences of the aspect ratio, the buckling modes and the surrounding medium on the torsional stability are examined in detail. The simulation results show that the torsional instability of DWCNTs can occur in different buckling modes according to the aspect ratio. The van der Waals (vdW) interaction force between nanotubes reinforces the stiffness of nanoshells. Thus, the DWCNTs possess higher buckling stability than the SWCNTs without considering vdW interaction force.