Dynamic buckling of double-walled carbon nanotubes under step axial load

ABSTRACTAn approximate method is presented in this paper for studying the dynamic buckling of double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWNTs) under step axial load. The analysis is based on the continuum mechanics model, which takes into account the van der Waals interaction between the outer and inner nanotubes. A buckling condition is derived, from which the critical buckling load and associated buckling mode can be determined. As examples, numerical results are worked out for DWNTs under fixed boundary conditions. It is shown that, due to the effect of van der Waals forces, the critical buckling load of a DWNT is enhanced when inserting an inner tube into a single-walled one. The paper indicates that the critical buckling load of DWNTs for dynamic buckling is higher than that for static buckling. The effect of the radii is also examined. In addition, some of the results are compared with the previous ones.