Vibration of carbon nanotubes studied using nonlocal continuum mechanics

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INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS PUBLISHING SMART MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES
Smart Mater. Struct. 15 (2006) 659666 doi:10.1088/0964-1726/15/2/050
Vibration of carbon nanotubes studied
using nonlocal continuum mechanics
Q Wang
1
and V K Varadan
2
1
Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Manitoba,
Winnipeg, MB, R3T 5V6, Canada
2
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701-1201,
USA
Received 16 August 2005
Published 16 March 2006
Online at stacks.iop.org/SMS/15/659
Abstract
A nonlocal continuum mechanics model is developed and applied to study
the vibration of both single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs) and double-walled
nanotubes (DWNTs) via elastic beam theories. The small-scale effects on
vibration characteristics of carbon nanotubes are explicitly derived through a
complete mechanics analysis. A qualitative validation study shows that the
results based on nonlocal continuum mechanics are in agreement with the
published experimental reports in this eld. Numerical simulations are
conducted to quantitatively show the small-scale effect on vibrations of both
SWNTs and DWNTs with different lengths and diameters.
(Some gures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)
1. Introduction
Extensive research on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has been
conducted [14] since CNTs were discovered by Iijima in
1991 [5]. Many applications of CNTs have been reported,
such as in atomic force microscopes (AFMs), eld emitters,
nanollers for composite materials, nanoscale electronic
devices. The unique electrical, mechanical and thermal
properties enable them to be used for the development of
superconductive devices for microelectromechanical (MEM)
and nanoelectromechanical (NEM) system applications.
Multiwalled nanotubes (MWNTs) have the potential for use
in the development of frictionless nanoactuators, nanomotors,
nanobearings, and nanosprings [6]. Therefore, the research
on CNTs may lead to new applications. Many analytical
analyses of the mechanical behavior of CNTs have been
proposed besides experimental works. The modeling for
the analytical analysis is classied into two main categories.
The rst one is atomic modeling, including techniques such
as classical molecular dynamics (MD) [7, 8], tight binding
molecular dynamics (TBMD) [9], and density functional
theory (DFT) [10]. The above atomic methods are limited
to systems with a small number of molecules and atoms
and therefore restricted to the study of small-scale modeling.
In order to carry out analytical analysis for a large-sized
atomic system, other powerful and effective models for the
analysis are expected to be needed. Unlike classical molecular
dynamics, the continuum model is effective in analyzing
carbon nanotubes for large-scale systems. Yakobson et al
[11] studied the unique features of fullerenes and developed a
continuumshell model in studying different instability patterns
of a carbon nanotube under different compressive loads.
Ru [12, 13] proposed buckling analysis of CNTs with shell
models. Parnes and Chrikis [14] investigated elastic buckling
of layered/ber-reinforced composite with elastic beamtheory.
Wang [15] provided effective in-plane stiffness and bending
rigidity of armchair and zigzag CNTs through an analysis of
a representative volume element of the graphene layer with
continuous elastic models.
The size scales associated with nanotechnology are often
very small and may call the applicabilityof classical continuum
models into question. Continuummodels do not admit intrinsic
size dependence in the elastic solutions of inclusions and
inhomogeneities. At nanolength scales, however, size effects
often become prominent, the cause of which needs to be
explicitly addressed with the increasing interest in the general
area of nanotechnology. The effect of surface energies, strains,
and stresses on the size-dependent elastic state of embedded
inhomogeneities was investigated [16]. On the basis of surface
elasticity, the results showed that surface effects became
important and induced a size dependence in the otherwise
size-independent classical elasticity. Sun and Zhang [17]
pointed out the limitation of the applicability of continuum
models in nanotechnology. They indicated the importance
0964-1726/06/020659+08$30.00 2006 IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK 659
Q Wang and V K Varadan
of a semicontinuum model in analyzing nanomaterials. In
their semicontinuum model for nanostructured materials
with platelike geometry, results contrasting with those from
classical continuum models were observed. The values of
material properties were found to be completely dependent
on the thickness of the plate structure. The modeling of
such a size-dependent phenomenon has become an active and
interesting subject of research in this eld [18]. From the
above work on the size effect dependence of nanomaterials, it
is concluded that the applicability of the classical continuum
models at small scales may be questionable. At small size
the material microstructure features, such as the lattice spacing
between individual atoms, become increasingly important
and the discrete structure of the material can no longer be
homogenenized into a continuum. Therefore, continuum
models more appropriate than the classical elastic beam and
shell theories are expected to take into account the scale
effect in studies of nanomaterials at small scales. To resolve
this issue, one can extend the continuum models to smaller
scales by incorporating information regarding the behavior of
material microstructure.
Nonlocal elasticity was rst proposed by Eringen [19, 20]
to account for the scale effect in elasticity by assuming that the
stress at a reference point can be considered to be a functional
of the strain eld at every point in the body. In this way,
the internal size scale could be considered in the constitutive
equations simply as a material parameter. The application
of nonlocal elasticity models of nanomaterials was only paid
attention to by the nanotechnology community recently. In
a recent work by Peddieson et al [21], a version of nonlocal
elasticity was proposed for formulating a nonlocal version of
EulerBernoulli beam theory. They concluded that nonlocal
continuum mechanics could potentially play a useful role in
analysis related to nanotechnology applications. Inspired by
the above conclusion on the applicability of nonlocal elasticity
methods to nanotechnology, applications of nonlocal Euler
Bernoulli beam and shell models have been employed in
studying the mechanical behavior of CNTs. Sudak [22] studied
the innitesimal column buckling of MWNTs incorporating
not only van der Waals forces but also the effects of small
length scales. His results showed that the critical axial
strain decreases compared to the results obtained with the
classical continuum beam model as the small length scale
increases in magnitude. Zhang et al [23] proposed a nonlocal
multishell model for the axial buckling of MWNTs under axial
compression. Their results showed that the effect of the small
scale on the axial buckling strain was related to the buckling
mode and the length of the tubes.
Continuum models have been widely applied to CNTs in
vibration analysis. Krishnan et al [24] estimated the stiffness
of SWNTs by observing their free-standing room temperature
vibration using a transmission electron microscope. The
frequency equations for a cantilever from elastic beam
theory are employed. Electrostatic deections and the
electromechanical resonance of CNTs were studied as well by
Poncharal et al [25]. They showed that CNTs were resonantly
excited at the fundamental frequency and higher harmonics
as revealed by their deected contours, which corresponded
closely to those determined for cantilevered elastic beams.
Resonant frequencies and the associated vibrational modes of
an individual MWNT embedded in an elastic medium were
discussed by Yoon et al [26]. The van der Waals effect was
taken into account in their study. In all the above applications
of classical or local continuum models in vibration analysis
of CNTs, the scale effect was never considered. Thus, the
vibration solutions from the work were denitely independent
of the size of CNTs. The research in this paper will analyze
vibration of both SWNTs and DWNTs considering the small-
scale effect. The objective of the research is to reveal the
small-scale effect on CNT vibration analysis by applying
nonlocal continuum mechanics, although some other non-
classical continuum approaches to the study of CNTs have
been successful in different respects, as introduced above. The
nonlocal elastic beam theories are employed and the van der
Waals effect will also be accounted for in the continuummodel.
The explicit solutions for the frequency equation for simply
supported SWNTs and DWNTs will be derived in the research,
on the basis of which the small-scale effect, both the length
and diameter effect, will be discussed. It is hoped that the
research from the paper will provide benchmark solutions for
the vibration analysis of CNTs via continuum models.
2. Elastic beam models in nonlocal continuum
mechanics
In the theory of nonlocal elasticity [20], the stress at a reference
point x is considered to be a functional of the strain eld at
every point in the body. This observation is in accordance
with atomic theory of lattice dynamics and experimental
observations on phonon dispersion. In the limit when the
effects of strains at points other than x are neglected, one
obtains a classical (local) theory of elasticity.
The basic equations for linear, homogeneous, isotropic,
nonlocal elastic solids with zero body force are given by [22]

i j, j
= 0 (1a)

i j
(x) =
_
(|x x

|, )C
i j kl

kl
(x

) dV(x

), x V
(1b)

i j
=
1
2
(u
i, j
+u
j,i
) (1c)
where C
i j kl
is the elastic modulus tensor of classical isotropic
elasticity;
i j
and
i j
are stress and strain tensors respectively,
and u
i
is the displacement vector. (|x x

|, ) is the
nonlocal modulus or attenuation function incorporating into
the constitutive equations the nonlocal effects at the reference
point x produced by the local strain at the source x

. |x x

| is
the Euclidean distance, and = e
0
a/l
21
, where e
0
is a constant
appropriate to each material, a is an internal characteristic
length (e.g. the length of the CC bond, a lattice parameter,
a granular distance), and l is an external characteristic length
(e.g. the crack length, the wavelength).
In Eringens work [20], integralpartial differential
equations for the above linear nonlocal elasticity were reduced
to singular partial differential equations of a special class with
physically admissible kernels. In addition, Hookes law for a
unaxial stress state can be determined from
(x) (e
0
a)
2
d
2
(x)
dx
2
= E(x) (2)
660
Vibration of carbon nanotubes studied using nonlocal continuum mechanics
M
M + dM
V + dV
dx
V
Figure 1. Free body diagram of a beam element.
where E is the Youngs modulus of the material. The parameter
e
0
a is the parameter leading to a small-scale effect on the
response of structures at the nanosize scale.
To investigate the small-scale effect on CNT vibration
analysis, nonlocal beam theories are proposed hereafter. In
structural vibration analysis of one-dimensional beam-like
structures, two theories are usually employed, namely Euler
Bernoulli and Timoshenko beam theories. Both theories
assume that plane sections remain plane. But in the Euler
Bernoulli beam theory, the sections remain perpendicular to
the neutral axis whereas this assumption is removed in the
Timoshenko beam theory [27] to allow accounting for the
effect of shear and rotary effects. The EulerBernoulli beam
theory normally provides overestimated frequency values
especially for shorter beams. The Timoshenko theory, on the
other hand, was proved to be able to provide a more accurate
frequency solution even for shorter beams, although it is more
complicated and inconvenient than the EulerBernoulli theory.
First, the nonlocal EulerBernoulli beam theory will be
proposed. The free body diagram of an innitesimal element
of a beam structure is shown in gure 1. The equilibrium
equations on the force in the vertical direction and the moment
on the one-dimensional structure can be easily provided, as
below:
V
x
A

2
u
t
2
= 0 (3a)
V
M
x
= 0 (3b)
where V(x, t ) and M(x, t ) are the resultant shear force and
bending moment on the beam; is the mass density of the
material, A is the cross sectional area, and u(x, t ) is the exural
deection of the beam.
Consider the denitions of the resultant bending moment
and the kinematics relation for a beam structure:
M =
_
A
y dA (4a)
= y

2
u
x
2
(4b)
where y is the coordinate measured from the mid-plane in the
height direction of the beam.
Substituting equations (4a), (4b) into the nonlocal
constitutive relation equation (2) leads to
M (e
0
a)
2

2
M
x
2
= EI

2
u
x
2
(5)
where EI is the bending rigidity of the beamstructure. Further
considering equations (3a), (3b), equation (5) will nally
become the following expression:
EI

4
u
x
4
+ A

2
t
2
_
u (e
0
a)
2

2
u
x
2
_
= 0 (6)
fromwhich it is easily seen that the local EulerBernoulli beam
model is recovered when the parameter e
0
is identically zero.
On the basis of similar analysis on the free body
diagram, the motion equation of CNTs based on the nonlocal
Timoshenko beam theory can be given as follows:
GA
_

x


2
u
x
2
_
+ A

2
u
t
2
= 0 (7a)
GA
_
1 (e
0
a)
2

2
x
2
__
u
x

_
+ EI

2

x
2
I

2
t
2
_
(e
0
a)
2

x
2
_
= 0 (7b)
where is introduced to measure the slope of the cross section
due to bending, G =
E
2(1+)
is the shear modulus of CNTs,
is the adjustment coefcient which is suggested to be 10/9 for
a circular shape of the cross section area [27]. Again, it is seen
that the local Timoshenko beam model is recovered when the
parameter e
0
is identically zero.
3. Nonlocal continuum mechanics for vibration of
CNTs
In order to study the CNT vibration solution, the bending
rigidity, EI , and the mass density per unit length, A, of CNTs
have to be provided rst. As the CNTs atomic structure is of
discrete nature, not as we proposed for beam structures, the
derivation of all the material properties, such as the bending
rigidity, in beam models from continuous structural mechanics
cannot be directly used in CNT analysis. Ru [12] proposed that
the effective bending rigidity of a SWNT should be regarded
as an independent material parameter not related to the
equilibrium thickness by the elastic bending stiffness formula.
Actually in all the lower order models for beams, plates, and
shells, the classical assumption used is the straight normal
postulate which states that the longitudinal deformation at any
point in the exural direction is proportional to the distance
between this point and the mid-plane of the mid-surface of
the structure. However, the atomic layer in SWNTs cannot
be divided into different layers and the exural strain or
deformation is actually concentratedon a narrowregion around
the centerline of the atom layer, rather than distributed linearly
over the thickness direction. On the basis of the above
discussions on the CNTs characteristics, the bending rigidity
and the mass density for SWNTs are proposed as follows [28]:
EI =
C
8
d
3
(8a)
A = t d (8b)
661
Q Wang and V K Varadan
where C = 360 J m
2
[11]; d is the diameter of
the mid-plane of the SWNT; t = 0.34 nm is the
equilibrium interlayer spacing of adjacent nanotubes; and
= 1.3 g cm
3
was proposed as the mass density of the
nanotubes [29].
The corresponding bending rigidity and mass density for
a DWNT are given as
EI =
C
8
_
d
3
1
+d
3
2
_
(9a)
A = t (d
1
+d
2
) (9b)
where d
1
and d
2
are the diameters of the mid-planes of the inner
and outer tubes respectively.
The small-scale effect on the vibration solution of both
SWNTs and DWNTs will be obtained below on the basis of
the above-developed nonlocal elastic beam theories and the
bending rigidity and mass density provided. In the following
derivations, only simply supported SWNTs and DWNTs are
discussed.
3.1. Analysis of SWNTs
Vibration solutions for a SWNT can be expressed as follows:
u(x, t ) = U(x)e
it
. (10)
Substitution of the above solution into the governing
equation of the SWNT leads to the following equation for
variable U(x):
d
4
U
dx
4
+
2
(e
0
a)
2
d
2
U
dx
2

2
U = 0 (11)
where
2
=
A
EI

2
. From equation (11), the general solution
for U(x) is given below:
U(x) = A
1
cos
1
x + A
2
sin
1
x + A
3
cosh
2
x + A
4
sinh
2
x
(12)
where

1
=
__

4
(e
0
a)
4
+4
2
+(e
0
a)
2

2
2
_1
2
,

2
=
__

4
(e
0
a)
4
+4
2
(e
0
a)
2

2
2
_1
2
.
Substituting the solution for the SWNT in equation (12)
into four boundary conditions for a simply supported beam
U(0) = U(L) = d
2
U/dx
2
|
x=0
= d
2
U/dx
2
|
x=L
= 0 will
lead to the following resonant frequency for mode n,
n
, of the
SWNT as follows:

n
= 1
_
_
1 +
n
2

2
L
2
(e
0
a)
2
(13)
where

n
=
n
2

2
L
2
_
EI
A
is the resonant frequency of the CNT
obtained on the basis of the classical or local EulerBernoulli
beam theory [32].
Following a similar procedure, the resonant frequency
based on the nonlocal Timoshenko beam theory can be
obtained as

nT

nT
=
1
_
1 +(e
0
a)
2
(n/L)
2

(14)
where
=
1 +d
2
(n/L)
2
/8
1 +d
2
(n/L)
2
/8 +(1 +)d
2
(n/L)
2
/4
,

nT
=
(n)
2
L
2
_
EI
A
_
_
1 +
n
2

2
EI
L
2
GA
is the resonant frequency of the CNT based on the classical
local Timoshenko beam theory.
3.2. Analysis of DWNTs
The single-beam theory was widely used in analysis of
DWNTs [3, 25, 29], which assumed that the two tubes of
a DWNT remain coaxial during deformation. However, this
theory cannot take into account the van der Waals interaction
effect at the interface of the DWNTs inner and outer
tubes. The double-beam theory, or multiple-beam theory [30],
considers the van der Waals effect in the modeling of DWNTs.
In linear analysis, the van der Waals interaction pressure at
any point between two adjacent tubes was modeled as a linear
function of the deection jump at that point [26]. In terms of
the above model of the van der Waals interaction, the governing
equations based on the EulerBernoulli beam theory for the
inner and outer tubes can be expressed as follows, where the
small-scale effect is taken into account as well:
EI
1

4
u
1
x
4
+ A
1

2
t
2
_
u
1
(e
0
a)
2

2
u
1
x
2
_
= Cd(u
2
u
1
)
(15a)
EI
2

4
u
2
x
4
+ A
2

2
t
2
_
u
2
(e
0
a)
2

2
u
2
x
2
_
= Cd(u
2
u
1
)
(15b)
where EI
i
, i = 1, 2, stand for the bending rigidities of
the inner and outer tubes, with E being the axial Youngs
modulus and I
i
the moments of inertia, u
1
(x, t ) and u
2
(x, t )
the bending deections of the inner and outer tubes, C = 1.0
10
20
J m
4
[26] the energy constant, and the dimensionless
parameter. The relationship between parameter and the
average tube diameter d = (d
1
+d
2
)/2 was proposed in [31].
Now, a scenario is considered in which all nested
individual nanotubes of the DWNT have the same simply
supported end conditions. It can be veried that all nested tubes
share the same vibrational mode [26]. Thus, the frequency
equation for the simply supported DWNT can be obtained by
assuming
u
1
(x, t ) = a
1
U
n
(x)e
it
(16a)
u
2
(x, t ) = a
2
U
n
(x)e
it
(16b)
where the mode shape U
n
(x) = sin
nx
L
of the simply
supported beamsatises an equation derived from the previous
section:
d
4
U
n
dx
4
+
2
n
(e
0
a)
2
d
2
U
n
dx
2

2
n
U
n
= 0. (17)
662
Vibration of carbon nanotubes studied using nonlocal continuum mechanics
Substituting equations (16a), (16b) into equations (15a),
(15b) and considering equation (17) gives rise to the following
two equations for the coefcients a
1
and a
2
:
n
4

4
L
4
_
1

2
n

2
n
A
1
EI
1
_
a
1
=
Cd
EI
1
(a
2
a
1
) (18a)
n
4

4
L
4
_
1

2
n

2
n
A
2
EI
2
_
a
2
=
Cd
EI
2
(a
2
a
1
). (18b)
An eigenvalue problem in searching for the conditions
for non-trivial solutions for a
1
and a
2
from the above
homogeneous equations can lead to the following equation
concerning the frequency
n
for mode n of the DWNT:

4
n

4
n

2
n

2
n
_
EI
1
A
1
_
1 +
CdL
4
EI
1
n
4

4
_
+
EI
2
A
2
_
1 +
CdL
4
EI
2
n
4

4
__
+
EI
1
EI
2
A
1
A
2
_
1 +
CdL
4
n
4

4
_
1
EI
1
+
1
EI
2
__
= 0 (19)
from which the frequency,
n
, is obtained as follows:

n1
=
_

2
n
2
_

n

_

2
n
4
n
__
1
2
(20)

n2
=
_

2
n
2
_

n
+
_

2
n
4
n
__
1
2
(21)
where

n
=
EI
1
A
1
_
1 +
CdL
4
EI
1
n
4

4
_
+
EI
2
A
2
_
1 +
CdL
4
EI
2
n
4

4
_
;

n
=
EI
1
EI
2
A
1
A
2
_
1 +
CdL
4
n
4

4
_
1
EI
1
+
1
EI
2
__
.
4. Results and discussion
As indicated, parameter a describes the internal characteristic
length, and it was chosen as the length of a CC bond, which is
0.142 nm, for the analysis of CNTs [22, 23]. On the other
hand, the parameter e
0
was given as 0.39 by Eringen [12].
This value has to be determined from experiments by matching
dispersion curves of plane waves. But this has not yet been
achieved for CNTs. It was speculated [22, 23] that the value
might be on the order of tens to hundreds for analysis of
CNTs. In this paper, the small-scale effect on the frequency
of CNTs versus the scale parameter e
0
a will be investigated
for a domain 0 e
0
< 7. The following results show
that even in this small domain of e
0
, the small-scale effect
is observed clearly. In addition, the ratio of the frequency
from the nonlocal continuum model to that from the classical
continuum model is used in the simulations as an indicator to
measure the small-scale effect on CNT vibration solutions.
Since the EulerBernoulli beam theory is a simple and
widely applied model in CNT analysis, the discussion of
SWNTs is conducted rst on the basis of the solution from
the nonlocal EulerBernoulli beam theory. From equation (13)
in which the ratio of the frequency from the nonlocal model to
that fromthe local model is provided, it shows that the classical
results will be recovered if the small-scale effect is neglected,
i.e. e
0
= 0. In addition, the result shows that the frequency
Mode 1
Mode 2
Mode 3
0.84
0.88
0.92
0.96
F
r
e
q
u
e
n
c
y

r
a
t
i
o
0.8
1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
(e0a) (nm)
Figure 2. Effect of the small length scale on the frequency at
L = 10 nm in a SWNT.
(e0a) (nm)
L=10nm
L=15nm
L=20nm
0.975
0.98
0.985
0.99
0.995
F
r
e
q
u
e
n
c
y

r
a
t
i
o
0.97
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
1
Figure 3. Effect of the small length scale on the frequency at mode 1
in a SWNT.
ratio for the SWNT becomes smaller when the small-scale
effect is considered since the variable r
n
in equation (13) is
always smaller than unity. Therefore, the classical result could
overestimate the frequency of SWNTs.
The ratio r
n
versus the scale parameter e
0
a at L = 10 nm
for the rst three modes of the SWNT vibration is plotted in
gure 2. It is shown clearly that the solution for all three modes
converges to the classical solution at e
0
= 0 as indicated above.
The small-scale effect is more obvious for higher modes. For
example, the value of the ratio is as low as 0.8 for mode 3
at higher values of the scale parameter, e
0
7. For mode
1, the difference between the current result and the classical
results is within 5% for the domain of the scale parameter
studied here. Figure 3 shows the small-length-scale effects
at L = 10, 15, and 20 nm separately for mode 1. It is
clearly seen that the lower ratio is observed for shorter CNTs
at larger scale parameter e
0
a, indicating that a higher small-
length-scale effect can be found for shorter CNTs. About 3%
difference of the frequency ratio between the current result and
the classical result is observed for the tube with L = 10 nm,
whereas only 0.005% difference is found for the tube with
L = 20 nm at e
0
a 0.8. This result is qualitatively
in agreement with the experimental work of Krishnan et al
[24]. In their work, the stiffness of SWNTs was estimated by
observing their free-standing room temperature vibration in a
transmission electron microscope. Independent estimates of
the nanotube length and tip vibration amplitude were obtained
663
Q Wang and V K Varadan
Table 1. Benchmark for the frequency
n1
(THz) of the simply supported DWNT with no small-scale effect.
n = 1 n = 2
L (nm) d
1
= 1 nm d
1
= 1.5 nm d
1
= 2 nm d
1
= 1 nm d
1
= 1.5 nm d
1
= 2 nm
10 1.441 820 1.898 495 2.367 532 4.905 01 6.590 464 8.415 711
12 1.007 024 1.327 663 1.656 989 3.689 06 4.840 33 6.071 409
14 0.741 631 0.978 289 1.221 377 2.832 145 3.707 245 4.617 997
16 0.568 465 0.750 056 0.936 589 2.215 152 2.907 027 3.619 577
18 0.449 431 0.593 077 0.740 636 1.769 387 2.326 841 2.899 615
20 0.364 165 0.480 596 0.600 199 1.441 82 1.898 495 2.367 532
22 0.301 026 0.397 288 0.496 174 1.195 806 1.575 784 1.966 041
24 0.252 979 0.333 886 0.416 999 1.007 024 1.327 663 1.656 989
26 0.215 574 0.284 525 0.355 355 0.859 286 1.133 245 1.414 639
28 0.185 889 0.245 348 0.306 428 0.741 631 0.978 289 1.221 377
30 0.161 937 0.213 736 0.266 948 0.646 477 0.852 898 1.064 933
from images of the cleanest nanotubes by a least-squares
minimization procedure. The nanotube parameters, including
the nanotube length, width, and corresponding estimate of the
Youngs modulus are (a) L = 36.8 nm, W = 1.50 nm,
E = 1.33 0.2 TPa; (b) L = 24.3 nm, W = 1.52 nm,
E = 1.20 0.2 TPa; (c) L = 23.4 nm, W = 1.12 nm, E =
1.02 0.3 TPa. The estimates of the Youngs modulus from
their work were based on a frequency equation in classical
continuum mechanics where the frequency is proportional to
the square root of the Youngs modulus. Data in groups (a) and
(b) show the comparison of the derived Youngs moduli, or
equivalently the frequencies, of two CNTs at different lengths
but with similar diameters. The comparison of data in group
(a) and (b) indicates that lower Youngs moduli are derived for
shorter CNTs, which is qualitatively in agreement with results
from our simulations in gure 3 representing the frequency
ratio being lower for shorter CNTs. It has to be emphasized
that the small-scale effect is independent of the diameter of
SWNTs based on the simple EulerBernoulli beam theory
shown in equation (13). However, from the comparison of
data in groups (b) and (c), in which the CNTs have different
diameters but similar lengths, we can see that the Youngs
modulus, or equivalently the derived frequency, is lower at
smaller diameter. This observation has to be veried from the
rened beam theory, the nonlocal Timoshenko beam theory.
Figure 4 shows the scale effect of the diameter on the variation
of the frequency ratio for the rst three modes at e
0
a = 0.9 nm
based on the nonlocal Timoshenko beam theory. In the gure,
the scale effect of the diameter on the ratio of the frequencies
shown in equation (14) is clearly observed. It is seen that
the frequency ratio becomes smaller for CNTs with smaller
diameter. In addition, this effect is more obvious for higher
modes. The simulations derived from nonlocal Timoshenko
beam theory are again qualitatively in agreement with the
experimental results obtained by Krishnan and et al [24]. In
work by Wang [33], it was concluded that the scale coefcient
e
0
a is radius dependent.
The discussion on DWNTs is next. First, the frequencies
of the DWNT when the small-scale effect is not accounted for
can be derived from equations (20) and (21) as follows, based
on EulerBernoulli beam theory, setting e
0
= 0:

n1
=
_
1
2
_
p
n

_
p
2
n
4q
n
__1
2
(22)
Mode 1
Mode 2
Mode 3
F
r
e
q
u
e
n
c
y

r
a
t
i
o
Diameter (nm)
0.9
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0.92
0.94
0.96
0.98
1
Figure 4. Effect of the small diameter scale on the frequency at
L = 20 nm in a SWNT.

n2
=
_
1
2
_
p
n
+
_
p
2
n
4q
n
__1
2
(23)
where

n
=
1
A
1
_
Cd +
EI
1
n
4

4
L
4
_
+
1
A
2
_
Cd +
EI
2
n
4

4
L
4
_
,

n
=
EI
1
EI
2
A
1
A
2
_
n
8

8
L
8
+
Cdn
4

4
L
4
_
1
EI
1
+
1
EI
2
__
.
Equations (22) and (23) are exactly the same as the
results given by Yoon et al [26], in which the vibrations
of multiwalled CNTs were discussed without considering the
small-scale effect. From careful observations and studies on
the vibration results in equations (20), (21) and equations (22),
(23), it is readily concluded that the ratio of the frequency from
the nonlocal continuum model to that from the local Euler
Bernoulli beam theory remains the same as the expression for
a SWNT:
r
n
=

n1

n1
=

n2

n2
= 1
_
_
1 +
n
2

2
L
2
(e
0
a)
2
. (24)
Hence, the variation of the frequency ratio versus the
length of the DWNT and for different modes of the DWNT
follows the same variation as for a SWNT, shown in gures 2
and 3. It is expected that the scale effect of the diameter on
the frequency ratio for DWNTs will also be similar to the
results obtained for SWNTs when the nonlocal Timoshenko
664
Vibration of carbon nanotubes studied using nonlocal continuum mechanics
Table 2. Benchmark for the frequency
n2
(THz) of the simply supported DWNT with no small-scale effect.
n = 1 n = 2
L (nm) d
1
= 1 nm d
1
= 1.5 nm d
1
= 2 nm d
1
= 1 nm d
1
= 1.5 nm d
1
= 2 nm
10 4.335 841 4.358 681 4.494 265 7.326 703 9.128 78 11.014 85
12 4.231 029 4.152 618 4.161 284 5.720 848 6.768 51 7.963 758
14 4.186 21 4.063 077 4.013 578 4.985 458 5.553 14 6.290 967
16 4.164 478 4.019 329 3.940 656 4.629 847 4.915 417 5.356 046
18 4.152 917 3.995 966 3.901 496 4.442 362 4.563 789 4.817 539
20 4.146 313 3.982 588 3.879 004 4.335 841 4.358 681 4.494 265
22 4.142 319 3.974 489 3.865 361 4.271 626 4.232 966 4.292 2
24 4.139 79 3.969 356 3.856 704 4.231 029 4.152 618 4.161 284
26 4.138 126 3.965 976 3.851 4.204 341 4.099 408 4.073 751
28 4.136 994 3.963 678 3.847 119 4.186 21 4.063 077 4.013 578
30 4.136 203 3.962 071 3.844 405 4.173 543 4.037 606 3.971 184
beam theory is considered. Thus, the conclusion on vibration
analysis of DWNTs is that the frequencies decrease with
decrease of the length and the diameter, and increase of
the modes of DWNTs. The benchmark solutions for the
frequencies of the DWNTs,
n1
and
n2
, based on local or
classical EulerBernoulli beam theory at different lengths and
diameters for the rst and second modes, are tabulated in
tables 1 and 2.
5. Conclusions
On the basis of the theory of nonlocal continuum mechanics,
CNT vibration is studied in this paper. Both SWNTs and
DWNTs are analyzed on the basis of the nonlocal beam
theories developed. Explicit frequency solutions for CNTs are
derived from which a small-scale effect, including the effects
of the length and diameter scale, on the frequency solution
is revealed. The ratio of the frequency from the nonlocal
continuum model to that from the classical continuum model
is used as an indicator to measure the small-scale effect on the
frequency variation of CNTs.
Results show that the ratio decreases with decrease of the
length and increase of the mode of the CNTs. The scale effect
of the diameter on the frequency ratio for SWNTs can only be
observed on the basis of the rened nonlocal Timoshenko beam
theory through an explicit expression for frequencies, which
shows that a smaller ratio is derived for SWNTs with smaller
diameter. Results from analytical study show the same small-
scale effect on vibration responses for SWNT and DWNTs.
From the simulations, it can be concluded that the classical
continuum models are still valid and convenient for studying
vibration responses of long and wide CNTs, especially for
lower modes.
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