Magnetically affected single-walled carbon nanotubes as nanosensors

•Magnetically affected SWCNTs as nanomechanical sensors are theoretically studied.•The key equations for cantilevered and bridged SWCNTs as nanosensors are derived.•The roles of magnetic field strength and added mass on sensitivity are examined.•Cantilevered SWCNTs show more sensitivity w.r.t. the magnetic field strength.•The sensitivity of SWCNTs is enhanced by apply of a longitudinal magnetic field.

The influence of longitudinal magnetic fields on the nanomechanical sensing behavior of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is of interest. To this end, a nonlocal mathematical model is proposed to study alteration of the fundamental flexural frequency of a magnetically affected SWCNT due to an arbitrarily added nanoparticle. The explicit expressions for the frequency shift of magnetically affected cantilevered and bridged SWCNTs due to the addition of a nanoparticle at the tip and midspan points are obtained. The predicted results reveal that the mechanical sensing of SWCNTs is generally enhanced by application of the longitudinal magnetic field.