Combined bending stability of carbon nanotubes subjected to thermo-electro-mechanical loadings

This paper investigates the combined bending stability of carbon nanotubes subjected to thermo-electro-mechanical loadings. Based on continuum mechanics, the Donnell shell theory is utilized to derive the critical buckling governing equations for carbon nanotubes subjected to combined thermo-electro-mechanical loadings. Both the van der Waals forces between adjacent nanotubes and the effect of the surrounding infinite elastic medium, the temperature change, the electric change, the axial loading are taken into consideration in the shell model. It is shown that the buckling bending moment only depends on the wave number of buckling modes under certain electric field and temperature field. All the related impact factors have enormous influence on the buckling bending moment for a certain buckling mode. The new features of the combined bending stability of carbon nanotubes subjected to thermo-electro-mechanical loadings will be helpful and valuable for the related applications and the dependent designs of CNT-based nano-structures serving in the complex electrical and thermal environment, especially for carbon nanotubes serving as electric conductors under combined bending load coupled with temperature change.