Numerical Simulation of the Mechanical Behaviour of the Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

The mechanical behaviour of non-chiral multi-walled carbon nanotubes under tensile and bending loading conditions was investigated. For this purpose, a simplified finite element model of armchair and zigzag multi-walled carbon nanotubes, which does not take into account the van der Waals forces acting between layers, was tested in order to evaluate their tensile and bending rigidities, as well as the Young's modulus. The current numerical simulation results are compared with data reported in the literature. The robustness of the simplified model for evaluation of the Young's modulus of multi-walled carbon nanotubes is discussed.