Finite Element Modeling of Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract-- A finite e lement model is developed to study the mechanical behavior of nano-structured materials. The model serves as a link between computational chemistry and solid mechanics by substituting discrete molecular structures with an equivalent-continuum model. The model reported here is a continuation of a previous model, which was developed by the authors and was applied to determine the effective stiffness of a graphene sheet. The pre sent model is developed by bending the previously developed graphene sheet model around its vertical edge to form a single wall carbon nanotube, which, then, has been characterized to find its mechanical properties. Index Term-- carbon nanotubes, finite element, modeling, CNT, characterization. 1