Mechanical characteristics of graphene nanoribbons encapsulated in single-walled carbon nanotubes using molecular dynamics simulations

We perform molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of nanoindentation to study the mechanical properties of a graphene nanoribbon encapsulated in a single-walled carbon nanotube (GNR@SWCNT). The effects of different temperatures, nanotube diameters, and slenderness ratios on the properties of the GNR@SWCNT are examined. Results show that the maximum load and contact stiffness increase with an increase of temperature. But the adhesion force and ratio of springback are low at a high temperature of 1200 K. The maximum load and contact stiffness are high for the nanoindentation of the GNR@SWCNT with a low slenderness ratio. In addition, the GNR@SWCNT has a more than 15% rate of springback exhibiting a superelastic nanocomposite behavior. The results are useful for engineering applications of nanocomposites composed of carbon nanotubes and graphene materials. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.