Investigation of elastic and buckling properties of carbon nanocones using molecular mechanics approach

This paper presents the elastic and buckling behaviors of carbon nanocones with different dimensions including different apex angles and lengths. The well-known molecular mechanics based finite element method is used to study the mentioned properties of theses nanostructures. Next, the elastic moduli of carbon nanocones with various dimensions are reported. Furthermore, the critical compressive forces of the axial buckling phenomena of carbon nanocones with the various dimensions and boundary conditions are presented in detail. The results show that with increasing the lengths and apex angles of the carbon nanocones, the elastic moduli and critical compressive forces decrease. Finally, the critical torque and the corresponding mode shapes of torsional buckling of these nanostructures are reported. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.