Size-dependent elastic properties of micro- and nano-honeycombs

Detailed mathematical derivation and simple closed form results for the size-dependent elastic properties of micro- and nano-sized honeycombs are presented in this paper. The results indicate that at micrometer scale, strain gradient has a dominant effect and at nano-meter scale, surface elasticity dominates the effect on the honeycomb elastic properties. The in-plane elastic properties of a nano- or micro-honeycomb could be controlled to vary over a range of around 10% by adjusting the initial stress in the cell walls by applying an electric potential. In addition, the bending and shear rigidities of some commonly used micro- and nano-structural elements have been obtained and presented in this paper, which could be of important applications in the design of MEMS and NEMS. Crown Copyright (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.