Geometrically nonlinear static analysis of an embedded multiwalled carbon nanotube and the van der waals interaction

On the basis of Reissner's mixed variational theorem (RMVT), rather than the principle of virtual displacement (PVD), the authors presented a nonlocal Timoshenko beam theory (TBT) for the geometrically nonlinear static analysis of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) embedded in an elastic medium. The embedded MWCNT was subjected to mechanical loads on its outer-most surface, with combinations of free, simply supported, and clamped edge conditions. The van der Waals interaction between any pair of walls constituting the MWCNT was considered, and the interaction between the MWCNT and its surrounding medium was simulated using the Pasternak-type foundation model. In the formulation, the governing equations of a typical wall and the associated boundary conditions were derived, in which von Kármán geometrical nonlinearity was considered. Eringen's nonlocal elasticity theory was used to account for the small-length scale effect. The deformations induced in the embedded MWCNT were obtained using the differential quadrature method and a direct iteration approach. In the numerical examples, solutions of the RMVT-based nonlocal TBT converged rapidly, and the convergent solutions of its linear counterpart closely agreed with the analytical and numerical solutions of the PVD-based nonlocal beam theories available in the literature.