A Computational Study on the Transversal Visco-Elastic Properties of Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes and Their Relation to the Damping Mechanism

作者：Zhou Zhong; Qian Dong^*; Yu Min Feng

来源：Journal of Computational and Theoretical Nanoscience, 2011, 8(5): 820-830.

DOI：10.1166/jctn.2011.1759

• Carbon Nanotube
• Visco-Elastic Properties
• Energy Dissipation
• Molecular Dynamics
• Nanoindentation

Based on molecular dynamics simulation and a continuum shell model, we present a semi-analytical approach to the visco-elastic properties of the single walled CNTs (SWCNTs) in the transversal direction and the associated damping mechanism. More specifically, we have studied the visco-elastic properties of the SWCNTs defined in both the time and frequency domains in terms of the creep compliance and the relaxation and complex modulus. The equilibrium visco-elastic properties are found to be strongly dependent on tube radius, while the chirality has no appreciable effect. In addition, the study reveals a time scale on the order of nanosecond for SWCNTs to fully achieve to its equilibrium property. This time scale plays a critical role in the energy loss and damping mechanisms. The quality factor Q values are computed based on the visco-elastic constants for a wide range of tube geometry and loading conditions. The associated energy dissipation mechanism is found to be strongly influenced by the nanotube radius and the load frequency. The predicted influence of load frequency is further validated through comparison with experiments.

• 出版日期2011-5