Shape and Structural Design Optimization of Graphene Sheets in Natural Vibration Problem

Abstract

Because of their superior mechanical, structural, and electronic properties, graphene sheets (GSs) are supposed to be components of nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS). In this study, we carry out shape and structural optimization of GSs with topological defects in natural vibration problem to enhance their fundamental frequencies. At first, we model GSs as continuum frame models based on the molecular mechanics method. Then, we carry out shape design optimization of GSs by using a developed free-form optimization method for frame structures. In the shape design optimization, we use the fundamental frequency as objective function and enhance it considering volume constraint and repeated eigenvalues. Next, we derive the optimal atom structures of GSs with topological defects using a combination of the Phase-Field-Crystal method, the Voronoi tessellation method, and molecular dynamics simulation. The numerical results show that the fundamental frequencies of GSs can be significantly increased according to the shape and structural design optimization, and we can get their optimal atom structures with defects, which is helpful for designing GSs as components in NEMS.