On the plastic buckling of curved carbon nanotubes

This research, for the first time, predicts theoretically static stability response of a curved carbon nanotube (CCNT) under an elastoplastic behavior with several boundary conditions. The CCNT is exposed to axial compressive loads. The equilibrium equations are extracted regarding the Euler–Bernoulli displacement field by means of the principle of minimizing total potential energy. The elastoplastic stress-strain is concerned with Ramberg–Osgood law on the basis of deformation and flow theories of plasticity. To seize the nano-mechanical behavior of the CCNT, the nonlocal strain gradient elasticity theory is taken into account. The obtained differential equations are solved using the Rayleigh–Ritz method based on a new admissible shape function which is able to analyze stability problems. To authorize the solution, some comparisons are illustrated which show a very good agreement with the published works. Conclusively, the best findings confirm that a plastic analysis is crucial in predicting the mechanical strength of CCNTs.