Small-scale effect on vibration analysis of single-walled carbon nanotubes embedded in an elastic medium using nonlocal elasticity theory

Abstract

Nonlocal elasticity theory is a growing technique for the mechanical analyses of microelectromechanical (MEMS) and nanoelectromechanical (NEMS) based structures. The nonlocal parameter accounts for the small size effects when dealing with nanosize structures such as single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). In this article, nonlocal elasticity and Timoshenko beam theory are implemented to study the vibration response of SWCNT embedded in an elastic medium. Influence of the surrounding elastic medium on the fundamental frequencies of the SWCNT is investigated. Both Winkler-type and Pasternak-type foundation models are employed to simulate the interaction of the SWCNT with the surrounding elastic medium. A differential quadrature approach is being utilized and numerical solutions for the natural frequencies are obtained. Influences of nonlocal effects, Winkler modulus parameter, Pasternak shear modulus parameter, and aspect ratio on the frequency of SWCNT are analyzed and discussed. The present study illustrates that the frequencies of embedded SWCNT are significantly dependent on the nonlocal parameter and on the stiffness of the surrounding elastic medium.