Claudia Versaci

Carbon nanotubes and nanosensors: vibration, buckling and ballistic impact

The main properties that make carbon nanotubes (CNTs) a promising technology for many future applications are: extremely high strength, low mass density, linear elastic behavior, almost perfect geometrical structure, and nanometer scale structure. Also, CNTs can conduct electricity better than copper and transmit heat better than diamonds. Therefore, they are bound to find a wide, and possibly revolutionary use in all fields of engineering. The interest in CNTs and their potential use in a wide range of commercial applications; such as nanoelectronics, quantum wire interconnects, field emission devices, composites, chemical sensors, biosensors, detectors, etc.; have rapidly increased in the last two decades. However, the performance of any CNT-based nanostructure is dependent on the mechanical properties of constituent CNTs. Therefore, it is crucial to know the mechanical behavior of individual CNTs such as their vibration frequencies, buckling loads, and deformations under different loadings. This title is dedicated to the vibration, buckling and impact behavior of CNTs, along with theory for carbon nanosensors, like the Bubnov-Galerkin and the Petrov-Galerkin methods, the Bresse-Timoshenko and the Donnell shell theory.

Clamped-Free Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube-Based Mass Sensor Treated as Bernoulli–Euler Beam

In this study, we investigate the vibrations of the cantilever single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) with attached bacterium on the tip in view of developing the sensor. This sensor will be able to help to identify the bacterium or virus that may be attached to the SWCNT. Two cases are considered: These are light or heavy bacteria attached to the nanotube. The problem is solved by the exact solution, the finite difference method, and the Bubnov-Galerkin method.

Effective Stiffness and Effective Mass of the Double-Walled Carbon Nanotube Sensor

In this study, the effective stiffness of the double-walled carbon nanotube sensor is determined by both the Bubnov―Galerkin method and the finite difference technique. It is shown that in addition to the familiar expression of the effective stiffness of the clamped-free beam, there is an additional term for the double-walled carbon nanotubes effective stiffness. Additionally, it is demonstrated that there are two effective stiffness expressions, depending on where the load is applied, at the inner tube or at the outer tube. Additionally, effective mass is evaluated in the context of the Galerkin method.