Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
251618 Composite Structures 2014 10 Pages PDF
Abstract

A carbon nanospring (CNS) is formed by coiling a single-walled carbon nanotube around a cylindrical surface with a uniform pitch length and a uniform spring rise angle. Using the displacement-controlled tension method, the mechanical properties of small-radius and large-radius CNSs are investigated based on a molecular mechanics (MM) simulation. The tension behaviour of a small-radius CNS with more turns is similar to that of a mechanical spring. The spring stiffness of a three-turn CNS is calculated to be 0.36 N/m with a maximum of 38% elongation for its elastic deformation. Although a large-radius CNS with more turns cannot be uniformly stretched along its axial direction, it has excellent flexibility without structural damage even when the CNS is stretched to a carbon nanotube (CNT). It is found that the spring stiffness of a large-radius CNS with one turn and two turns are both nonlinear. For a one-turn CNS, the stiffness first decreases and then increases with the tension displacement and less influenced by the chiral type.

Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Engineering Civil and Structural Engineering
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