Prediction of compressive post-buckling behavior of single-walled carbon nanotubes in thermal environments

In the present investigation, the axial buckling and post-buckling configurations of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are studied including the thermal environment effect. For this purpose, Eringen's nonlocal elasticity continuum theory is implemented into the classical Euler-Bernoulli beam theory to represent the SWCNTs as a nonlocal elastic beam model. A closed-form analytical solution is carried out to analyze the static response of SWCNTs in their post-buckling state in which the axial buckling load is assumed to be beyond the critical axial buckling load. Common sets of boundary conditions, named simply supported-simply supported (SS-SS), clamped-clamped (C-C), and clamped-simply supported (C-SS), are considered in the investigation. Selected numerical results are given to represent the variation of the carbon nanotube's mid-span deflection with the applied axial load corresponding to various nonlocal parameters, length-to-diameter aspect ratios, temperature changes, and end supports. Moreover, a comparison between the post-buckling behaviors of SWCNTs at low- and high-temperature environments is presented. It is found that the size effect leads to a decrease of the axial buckling load especially for SWCNTs with C-C boundary conditions. Also, it is revealed that the value of the temperature change plays different roles in the post-buckling response of SWCNTs at low- and high-temperature environments.