Computational Materials Science 50 (2011) 10521056

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Computational Materials Science

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/commatsci

Buckling analysis of single walled carbon nanotube on Winkler foundation

using nonlocal elasticity theory and DTM
S.C. Pradhan , G.K. Reddy
Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal 721 302, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In the present work differential transformation method (DTM) is used to predict the buckling behaviour
Received 11 October 2010 of single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) on Winkler foundation under various boundary conditions.
Accepted 1 November 2010 Four different boundary conditions namely clampedclamped, simply supported, clamped hinged and
Available online 23 November 2010
clamped free are used to study the critical buckling loads. Effects of (i) size of SWCNT (ii) nonlocal
parameter and (iii) Winkler elastic modulus on nonlocal critical buckling loads are being investigated
Keywords: and discussed. The DTM is implemented for the nonlocal SWCNT analyses and this yields results with
Buckling
high degree of accuracy. Further, present method can be applied to linear and nonlinear problems.
Carbon nanotube
Winkler foundation
2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Nonlocal theory

1. Introduction
Invention of carbon nanotubes by Iijima [1], started a new eld
of research for the accurate analysis of nano-size structures.
Recently there has been growing interest for applications of
nonlocal continuum mechanics especially in the eld of fracture
mechanics, dislocation mechanics and micro/nanotechnologies
(carbon nanotubes). These small structures are found to be
possessing extraordinary mechanical, thermal and electrical prop-
erties compared to conventional structures. Due to these superior
properties CNTs are used in the emerging elds of nanoelectronics
and nanodevices. The CNTs also hold exciting promises in potential
applications as electrodes in super capacitors and as cable material
for space elevators. CNTs are cylindrical macromolecules composed
of a highly ordered sheet of carbon atoms in a periodic hexagonal
arrangement rolled into a tube. This gives CNTs unique properties
and wide range of applications. Many believe that CNTs would pro-
vide the ultimate reinforcing materials for the development of a
new class of nanocomposites [2,3]. Therefore understanding the
mechanical and physical properties of nanostructures is necessary
for its practical applications. The mechanical analyses of nanostruc-
tures, theoretical and mathematical modeling becomes an impor-
tant issue concerning its nano-engineering applications. Eringen
[4] proposed the nonlocal continuum theories for the analysis of
small sized structures. In nonlocal elasticity theory the small-scale
effects are captured by assuming that the stress at a point is a func-
tion not only of the strain at that point but also a function of the
Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 3222 283008; fax: +91 3222 255303.
E-mail address: scp.aero@gmail.com (S.C. Pradhan).
strains at all other points of the domain. This is due to the scale ef-
fect of the nanostructures. As the length scales are reduced the
inuences of long range inter-atomic and inter molecular cohesive
forces on the static and dynamic properties tend to be signicant
and cannot be neglected. The classical theory of elasticity being
the long wave limit of the atomic theory excludes these effects
and thus would fail to analyze the structure with small-scale effects
accurately. Thereby size-dependent continuum-based methods
[57] are becoming popular in modeling small sized structures as
it offers much faster and accurate solutions. Drawbacks of the
classical continuum theory could be efciently avoided and size-
dependent phenomena can be satisfactorily explained by the non-
local theory. Sudak [8] carried out buckling analysis of multi-walled
carbon nanotubes. Wang and Varadhan [9] analyzed the small-
scale effect of CNT and shell model. Yakobson et al. [10] introduced
an atomistic model for axially compressed SWCNT and compared it
to a simple continuum shell model. Sears and Batra [11] proposed a
comprehensive buckling analysis of single walled and multi-walled
CNTs by molecular mechanics simulations and continuum mechan-
ics models. Such study of buckling analysis of carbon nanotubes is
of interest for better understanding of mechanical responses of
CNTs. A relevant reference concerning nonlocal theories for bend-
ing, buckling and vibration analysis of nanobeams is reported by
Reddy [12]. Work related to bending, vibration and buckling analy-
ses of CNTs and graphene sheets using nonlocal elasticity are found
in [1326]. However, no literature has been found on the buckling
analysis of carbon nanotubes on elastic foundation with various
boundary conditions. In the present work differential transforma-
tion method (DTM) has been employed to study the nonlocal effects
on SWCNT on elastic foundation with various boundary conditions.

0927-0256/$ - see front matter 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.commatsci.2010.11.001
 S.C. Pradhan, G.K. Reddy / Computational Materials Science 50 (2011) 10521056 1053

Nomenclature

L length of the SWCNT w deections of the SWCNT at any point x

E Youngs modulus of the SWCNT l nonlocal parameter
M bending moment P critical buckling load
V shear force I moment of Inertia
S(x) fourth order elasticity tensor k Winkler constant
rl macroscopic local stress tensor

 
This method was proposed by Zhou [27] for solving both linear and p  kw l
R2 11
nonlinear initial-value problems of electrical circuits. Later, Chen EI
and Ho [28] applied this method for the partial differential equa-
!
tions. Arkoglu and zkol [29] extended the DTM to solve the inte- kw L4
gro-differential equations. R3 12
EI

2. Formulation
3. Differential transformation method and solution
According to Eringen [4] the nonlocal constitutive behaviour of
a Hookean solid is represented by the following differential consti- While solving the Eq. (9) authors preferred DTM approach
tutive relation which avoids solving complicated transcedental algebraic equa-
tions for general boundary conditions. In order to derive differen-
1  lr2 rnl rl 1 tial form of Eq. (9) we refer Table 1 and the following expression
Here l is the nonlocal parameter; r is the local stress tensor at a l is written as
point which is related to strain by generalized Hookes law R2 k 1k 2Wk 2  R3 Wk
Wk 4 13
l
r x Sx : ex 2 R1 k 1k 2k 3k 4

where S is the fourth order elasticity tensor and : denotes the

double dot product. From the free body diagram of an innitesimal 4. Boundary conditions
element of a beam structure subjected to an axial loading, P and
embedded in an elastic medium of Winkler constant kw, the equilib- 4.1. Clampedclamped SWCNT
rium equations regarding the force in vertical direction and
moment on the one-dimensional structure can be shown as [30]: The boundary conditions for this case are dened as

dV w0 0; w0 0 0; wL 0; w0 L 0 14
kw w 3
dx From the above boundary conditions we refer Table 2 to write the
dM dw differential transformation boundary conditions as
V p 0 4
dx dx
W0 0; W1 0 15
The nonlocal constitutive relation is given by
2 2 X
1
d M d w Wk 0 16
Ml 2
EI 2
5
dx dx k0

Thus substituting the above expressions bending moment and shear

force is written as Table 1
" # DTM theorems used for equations of motion.
2 2
d w d w Original function Transformed function
M EI 2
l P 2
kw w 6
dx dx f(x) = g(x) h(x) F(k) = G(k) H(k)
f x kgx Fk kGk
" # P
3 2 f(x) = g(x)h(x) Fk kl0 GlHk  l
d w d w
dw dw
V EI 3
l P 3 kw P 7 n
f x d dxgx Fk kn! Gk n
dx dx dx dx n
n k!

f(x) = x 0 if k n
Fk dk  n
Further considering above equations, we nally come to the follow- 1 if k n

ing equation
!" #
4 2 2
d w d d w
EI 4
1l 2
kw w p 2
0 8 Table 2
dx dx dx DTM theorems used for boundary conditions.

which is nondimensionalized as x=0 x=1

4 2 Original BC Transformed BC Original BC Transformed BC
d W d W
R1 4
R2 2
R3 W 0 9 f(0) = 0 F(0) = 0 f(1) = 0
P1
Fk 0
dX dX Pk0
1
df
0 0 F(1) = 0 df
1 0 k0 kFk 0
dx dx
where P1
d2 f
0 0 F(2) = 0 d2 f
1 0 k0 kk  1Fk 0
 pl
dx2 dx2
P1
d3 f F(3) = 0 d3 f k0 kk  1k  2Fk 0
R1 1  10 dx3
0 0
dx3
1 0
EI
1054 S.C. Pradhan, G.K. Reddy / Computational Materials Science 50 (2011) 10521056

X
1
W0 0; W1 0 24
kWk 0 17
k0
X
1

By assuming W(2) = c1 and W(3) = c2 the Eq. (13) can be calculated Wk 0 25

k0
up to n terms and it will be substituted in Eqs. (16) and (17) and
solving this for nontrivial solutions we get Pcr. As the n value X
1
increases the accuracy of the solution increases. kk  1  R4 L2 Wk 0 26
k0
4.2. Simply supported SWCNT
By assuming W(2) = c1 and W(3) = c2 the Eq. (13) can be calculated
up to n terms and similar procedure is applied as that of clamped
The boundary conditions for this case are dened as
clamped boundary condition.
w0 0; M0 0; wL 0; ML 0 18
4.4. Clamped free SWCNT
From the above boundary conditions we refer Table 2 to write the
differential transformation boundary conditions as The boundary conditions for this case are dened as
W0 0; W2 0 19
w0 0; w0 0 0; ML 0; VL 0 27
X
1
From the above boundary conditions we refer Table 2 to write the
Wk 0 20
differential transformation boundary conditions as
k0

W0 0; W1 0 28
X
1
kk  1  R4 L2 Wk 0 21
X
1
k0
kk  1  R4 L2 Wk 0 29
k0
where
lkw X
1
R4 22 kk  1k  2 R5 L2 kWk 0 30
EI  lP k0

By assuming W(1) = c1 and W(3) = c2 the Eq. (13) can be calculated P  lkw L2
up to n terms and similar procedure is applied as that of clamped R5 31
EI  lP
clamped boundary condition.
By assuming W(2) = c1 and W(3) = c2 the Eq. (13) can be calculated
4.3. Clamped hinged SWCNT up to n terms and similar procedure is applied as that of clamped
clamped boundary condition.
The boundary conditions for this case are dened as
w0 0; w0 0 0; wL 0; ML 0 23 5. Results and discussions

From the above boundary conditions we refer Table 2 to write the The governing equations for the SWCNT with nonlocal effects
differential transformation boundary conditions as are written in Eq. (8). It is interesting to note that by putting

Table 3
Critical buckling load for clampedclamped case.

Length(nm) P (nN) P (nN) P (nN)

l = 0 nm2 l = 1 nm2 l = 2 nm2
P (exact31) P (DTM) P (exact31) P (DTM) P (exact31) P (DTM)
10 19.379 19.379 13.8939 13.8939 10.828 10.828
12 13.458 13.458 10.652 10.652 8.6917 8.6917
14 9.877 9.877 8.2296 8.2296 7.0479 7.0479
16 7.4699 7.4699 6.5585 6.5585 5.7854 5.7854
18 5.9811 5.9811 5.3375 5.3375 4.8091 4.8091
20 4.8447 4.8447 4.4095 4.4095 4.046 4.046

Table 4
Critical buckling load for simply supported case.

Length (nm) P (nN) P (nN) P (nN)

l = 0 nm2 l = 1 nm2 l = 2 nm2
P (exact31) P (DTM) P (exact31) P (DTM) P (exact31) P (DTM)
10 4.8447 4.8447 4.4095 4.4095 4.046 4.046
12 3.3644 3.3644 3.1486 3.1486 2.9588 2.9588
14 2.4718 2.4718 2.3533 2.3533 2.2456 2.2456
16 1.8925 1.8925 1.8222 1.8222 1.7569 1.7569
18 1.4953 1.4953 1.4511 1.4511 1.4094 1.4094
20 1.2112 1.2112 1.182 1.182 1.1542 1.1542
 S.C. Pradhan, G.K. Reddy / Computational Materials Science 50 (2011) 10521056 1055

Table 5
Critical buckling load for clamped hinged case.

Length (nm) P (nN) P (nN) P (nN)

l = 0 nm2 l = 1 nm2 l = 2 nm2
P (exact31) P (DTM) P (exact31) P (DTM) P (exact31) P (DTM)
10 9.887 9.887 8.2295 8.2295 7.048 7.048
12 6.886 6.886 6.0235 6.0235 5.3651 5.3651
14 5.044 5.044 4.5744 4.5744 4.1844 4.1844
16 3.8621 3.8621 3.5804 3.5804 3.337 3.337
18 3.0516 3.0516 2.873 2.873 2.7141 2.7141
20 2.4718 2.4718 2.3533 2.3533 2.2456 2.2456

Table 6
Critical buckling load for clamped free case.

Length (nm) P (nN) P (nN) P (nN)

l = 0 nm2 l = 1 nm2 l = 2 nm2
P (exact31) P (DTM) P (exact31) P (DTM) P (exact31) P (DTM)
10 1.2112 1.2112 1.1820 1.1820 1.1542 1.1542
12 0.8411 0.8411 0.8269 0.8269 0.8132 0.8132
14 0.6179 0.6179 0.6103 0.6103 0.6027 0.6027
16 0.4731 0.4731 0.4686 0.4686 0.4641 0.4641
18 0.3738 0.3738 0.3710 0.3710 0.3682 0.3682
20 0.3028 0.3028 0.3009 0.3009 0.2991 0.2991

l = 0 we obtain the corresponding local elasticity equation for where m = 2, 1, 1/0.7 and 0.5 for clampedclamped, simply sup-
SWCNT [31]. Analytical solutions exist for SWCNT with nonlocal ported, clamped hinged and clamped free boundary conditions,
effects without any elastic medium. The analytical solution [31] respectively. Similar analyses without Winkler foundation was
is given by done by Senthilkumar et al. [32]. Present analytical results are com-
  pared with those presented in Tables 36. Diameter is taken as
mp2 LEI2 1 nm for this case. Both these results are found to be in excellent
Pexact   2  32 agreement with Ref. [32].
1 l mLp
In Figs. 25 critical load ratios for the rst buckling mode are
4
plotted for various boundary conditions. While plotting R3 kwEIL
is dened as Winkler modulus (K). The load ratios are found to
be signicantly inuenced by (i) size of the nanobeam (ii) nonlocal
parameter and (iii) Winkler modulus.
Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of SWCNT on Winkler founda-
tion with simply supported boundary conditions. In Figs. 25 the
load ratios are plotted for various nonlocal parameters for different
Fig. 1. Single walled carbon nanotube with simply supported boundary conditions boundary conditions and different sizes of SWCNTs. The material
on Winkler foundation.
properties are taken as E = 1.06 TPa, diameter = 1 nm, Winkler

Fig. 2. Critical load ratio vs. length for clampedclamped for various nonlocal Fig. 3. Critical load ratio vs. length for simply supported for various nonlocal
parameters. parameters.
1056 S.C. Pradhan, G.K. Reddy / Computational Materials Science 50 (2011) 10521056
Fig. 4. Critical load ratio vs. length for clamped hinged for various nonlocal
parameters.
Fig. 5. Critical load ratio vs. length for clamped free for various nonlocal
parameters.
modulus (K) = 50. From these gures one can observe that nonlocal
effects are dominant up to (i) 25 nm for clampedclamped (ii)
10 nm for simply supported (iii) 15 nm for clamped hinged and
(iv) 10 nm for clamped free boundary conditions. In all the cases
the maximum jump in load ratio is observed for nonlocal parame-
ter going from 0 nm2 to 1 nm2. This jump gradually decreases as
one goes from 1 nm2 to 4 nm2.
In Fig. 6 load ratios are plotted for various Winkler moduli and
various boundary conditions. The material properties for this case
are taken as E = 1 TPa, diameter = 1 nm, length = 10 nm, nonlocal
parameter l = 1 nm2. It is observed that for clampedclamped,
simply supported, clamped hinged the load ratios increased as K
is varied from 0 to 200. Because increasing Winkler modulus
increases the stiffness of the beam. But anomaly was observed in
the case of clamped free case where load ratios were seen to be
decreasing with increase in K. Similar observations are made in
Ref. [12] for the analyses of the nanobeams.
Fig. 6. Critical load ratio vs. Winkler modulus for various boundary conditions.
6. Conclusions
Nonlocal elasticity equations of Eringen are employed and the
buckling analysis of SWCNT with Winkler foundation is carried
out. Effects of (i) size of beam (ii) Winkler modulus (K) and (iii)
nonlocal parameter of SWCNTs on the load ratio are investigated.
Nonlocal effects increase with decrease in the size of SWCNT. Load
ratios decrease with increase in nonlocal parameter. Further load
ratios increases with increase in Winkler modulus (K) for
clampedclamped, simply supported, clamped hinged boundary
conditions. However load ratios decreases but with increase in
Winkler modulus (K) for clamped free boundary condition.
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