Investigation of shear forces in twisted carbon nanotube bundles using a structural mechanics approach

Producing continuous macroscopic carbon nanotube fibers with mechanical features close to individual CNTs remains a major challenge. In this paper, the mesoscale mechanics of twisted CNT bundles using structural mechanics method by considering inter-tube interactions is investigated. For this purpose, the carbon nanotube structure and the respective coordinates of its atoms were extracted from Nanotube Modeler software. Based on these data, the carbon nanotube bundle models were created using ABAQUS scripting environment. To investigate the shear forces in the mesoscale model, the middle CNT of a bundle containing seven SWCNTs was pulled-out. Consequently, deformation mechanisms and an optimal twisting angle were determined. The simulation results from ABAQUS/CAE finite element solver code were verified by a full atomic molecular dynamics models published previously.

Automated summary

This study investigated the mesoscale mechanics of twisted carbon nanotube bundles using structural mechanics method by extracting the carbon nanotube structure and atom coordinates to create models, and determining shear forces and deformation mechanisms to find an optimal twisting angle. The simulation results from ABAQUS/CAE finite element solver code were verified by previously published molecular dynamics models.