Molecular mechanics method applied to problems of stability and natural vibrations of single-layer carbon nanotubes

The molecular mechanics (MM) method is used to determine the frequencies and natural vibration shapes and to determine the buckling critical parameters and the postcritical deformation shapes of single-walled carbon nanotubes with twisted ends. The following two variants of the MM method are used: the standard MM method and the mixed method of molecular mechanics/molecular structure mechanics method (MM/MSM). Computer simulation shows that the MM/MSM method allows one to obtain acceptable values of frequencies and natural vibration shapes as well as of critical angles of twist, appropriate buckling modes, and postcritical deformation configurations of nanotubes compared with the same characteristics of nanotube free vibrations and buckling obtained by the standard MM method.