Size-dependent instability of carbon nanotubes under electrostatic actuation using nonlocal elasticity

• Detailed mathematical formulation governing the mechanical behaviors of the carbon nanotubes under electrostatic actuation.
• Investigation of the effects of nonlocal elasticity on the electromechanical behaviors of the carbon nanotubes.
• Scrutinization of the effects of changes in the dimensions and boundary condition on desired behaviors.

In this paper, the classical and nonlocal elasticity are applied to investigate the deflection and instability of electrostatically actuated carbon nanotubes. The results are presented for different geometries and boundary conditions. They reveal that increasing radius and gap and decreasing length confine to increasing pull-in voltages of the carbon nanotubes. The results prove that application of the nonlocal elasticity theorem leads to stiffer structures with higher pull-in voltages. Thus, in order to obtain more accurate results about the mechanical and electromechanical behaviors of the carbon nanotubes, one should apply the nonclassical elasticity theories such as that applied in this paper.