Soon after the discovery of carbon nanotubes, it was realized that the theoretically predicted mechanical properties of these interesting structures–including high strength, high stiffness, low density and structural perfection–could make them ideal for a wealth of technological applications. The experimental verification, and in some cases refutation, of these predictions, along with a number of computer simulation methods applied to their modeling, has led over the past decade to an improved but by no means complete understanding of the mechanics of carbon nanotubes. We review the theoretical predictions and discuss the experimental techniques that are most often used for the challenging tasks of visualizing and manipulating these tiny structures. We also outline the computational approaches that have been taken, including ab initio quantum mechanical simulations, classical molecular dynamics, and continuum models. The development of multiscale and multiphysics models and simulation tools naturally arises as a result of the link between basic scientific research and engineering application; while this issue is still under intensive study, we present here some of the approaches to this topic. Our concentration throughout is on the exploration of mechanical properties such as Young’s modulus, bending stiffness, buckling criteria, and tensile and compressive strengths. Finally, we discuss several examples of exciting applications that take advantage of these properties, including nanoropes, filled nanotubes, nanoelectromechanical systems, nanosensors, and nanotube-reinforced polymers. This review article cites 349 references. @DOI: 10.1115/1.1490129#

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Mechanics of carbon nanotubes

▪ Abstract This account reviews the discovery, synthesis, properties, and the latest research advances of carbon nanotubes developed over the past 12 years. Because of their remarkable electronic and mechanical properties, carbon nanotubes are unique and exciting. The field has been developed rapidly, and the number of publications per year is increasing almost exponentially. Various technological applications are likely to arise using nanotubes for fabrication of flat panel displays, gas storage devices, toxic gas sensors, Li+ batteries, robust and lightweight composites, conducting paints, electronic nanodevices, etc. Further experimental and theoretical research is still necessary so that novel technologies will become a reality in the early twenty-first century.

Science and Technology of the Twenty-First Century: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications of Carbon Nanotubes

https://utw10193.utweb.utexas.edu/Archive/RuoffsPDFs/117.pdf

Mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes: theoretical predictions and experimental measurements

Production processes for carbon nanotubes often produce mixtures of solid morphologies that are mechanically entangled or that self‐associate into aggregates. Entangled or aggregated nanoparticles often need to be dispersed into fluid suspensions in order to develop materials that have unique mechanical characteristics or transport properties. This paper reviews the effects of milling, ultrasonication, high shear flow, elongational flow, functionalization, and surfactant and dispersant systems on morphology of carbon nanotubes and their interactions in the fluid phase. Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) have been used as an example model system for experimental work because they have been available in engineering‐scale quantities and can be dispersed reproducibly in a variety of solvents and polymers. Their size scales, ∼30–50 nm in average diameter and ∼5–50 microns in length, permit MWNT dispersions to be investigated using transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and i...

Dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes in Liquids

Mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes: a fiber digest for beginners

Efforts have been made to characterize the mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes. Previous work has concentrated on the tubes' longitudinal properties, and studies of their radial properties have lagged behind. We have used a scanning probe microscope with an indentation/scratch function to investigate the radial compression of multiwalled carbon nanotubes under an asymmetric stress. In particular, we have determined the radial compressive elastic modulus at different compression levels and have estimated the compressive strength to be well beyond 5.3 GPa.

Bin Jiang

Papers

Investigation of the radial compression of carbon nanotubes with a scanning probe microscope