Analysis of elastic properties of carbon nanotube reinforced nanocomposites with pinhole defects

► Effect of pinhole defects on mechanical properties of wavy carbon nanotubes based nanocomposites is investigated. ► Wavy CNTs with pinholes are modeled as continuum hollow cylindrical shaped elastic material. ► Presence of waviness significantly reduces the effective reinforcement. ► Reinforcement decreases with the increase of the number of pinhole defects.