Curvature effects on buckling of double-walled carbon nanotubes under combined axialcompression and lateral pressure

Abstract

Based on a curvature model for van der Waals (vdW) pressure between the interlayer of adouble-walled carbon nanotube (DWNT), explicit expressions are derived for the criticalbuckling load of a DWNT which is modeled as a double-elastic shell under combined axialcompression and lateral pressure. The critical load is calculated for various radii,length-to-radius ratios and load combinations. New results show that the curvature effectsplay a significant role in buckling problems for DWNTs of small radii. Neglecting thecurvature effect usually leads to an under-estimate of the critical load for DWNTswhen lateral pressure dominates. In addition, unlike Wang et al (2003b Int. J.Solids Struct. 40 3893) and Qian et al (2005 Int. J. Solids Struct. 42 5426), thebuckling mode corresponding to the minimum axial buckling strain is unique, evenwhen the lateral pressure is very small. For the DWNTs under combined axialcompression and lateral pressure, the critical axial strain is reduced due to the externalpressure.