Numerical analyses for the atomistic-based shell theory of carbon nanotubes

A shell theory established from the interatomic potential for carbon nanotubes is compared with the atomistic simulations. This shell theory is implemented in the finite element program ABAQUS via its user-material subroutine UGENS for shells. The numerical results for the representative loadings of tension, torsion and bending agree well with the atomistic simulations, which provide direct validation of this atomistic-based shell theory for carbon nanotubes.