Various gradient elasticity theories in predicting vibrational response of single-walled carbon nanotubes with arbitrary boundary conditions

This article deals with the development and use of different gradient beam theories in order to predict the vibrational behavior of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). To address the problem of free vibration, the Euler-Bernoulli and Timoshenko beam theories in conjunction with the gradient elasticity theories including stress, strain and combined strain/inertia are implemented. The generalized differential quadrature method is employed to numerically solve the problem which can treat various boundary conditions. The results generated from the present gradient models are compared with those from molecular dynamics simulations as a benchmark of good accuracy and the proper values of small length scales used in the gradient models are proposed. This study shows prominent differences between various gradient models when the nanotube becomes very short (for aspect ratios of approximately lower than six). It is indicated that applying the strain gradient elasticity by incorporation of inertia gradients yields more reliable results especially for shorter length SWCNTs on account of two small-scale factors related to the inertia and strain gradients. Moreover, since with the reduction in the aspect ratio of nanotubes the effects of boundary conditions become dominant, a discussion is given to investigate the influence of end conditions on the vibrational characteristics of SWCNTs.