Published by AMSS Press, Wuhan, China

Acta Mechanica Solida Sinica, Vol. 27, No. 1, February, 2014 ISSN 0894-9166
NONLINEARANDQUASI-LINEARBEHAVIOROF A
CURVEDCARBONNANOTUBE VIBRATINGINAN
ELECTRICFORCEFIELD; ANANALYTICAL
APPROACH
P. Soltani
1
A. Kassaei
1
M. M. Taherian
2
(
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Semnan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Semnan, Iran)
(
2
Young Researchers Club, Semnan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Semnan, Iran)
Received 26 March 2012, revision received 18 November 2013
ABSTRACT The nonlinear vibrational model of a slightly curved single-walled carbon nanotube
(SWCNT) resting on a Winkler-type elastic foundation is developed using nonlocal Euler- Bernoulli
elastic theory. The SWCNT is assumed to vibrate under an external harmonic electric force eld
and an analytical solution is proposed to obtain the nonlinear resonant frequencies. The results
show good agreement with the numerical simulation and the obtained analytical frequency is com-
pletely related to the curvature of the nanotube. Our model predicts that although the model is
nonlinear in nature, the curved SWCNT could behave linearly in a certain amount of curvatures
and this quasi-linear vibrational behavior of curved SWCNT is a function of aspect ratio, nonlocal
parameter, and stiness of the foundation.
KEY WORDS single-walled carbon nanotube, curvature, nonlinear vibration, quasi-linear vibra-
tion, multiple scales method
I. INTRODUCTION
Carbon nanotubes are long and thin cylinders of carbon atoms which were discovered in 1991 by
Iijima
[1]
. Nowadays, of several possible smart nanoscale materials, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have
inspired scientists and engineers for their wide range of unusual physical, chemical, and mechanical
properties
[24]
. These superior characteristics make them potentially appropriate for many applica-
tions in many dierent elds such as nanoscale actuation, sensing, and detection
[59]
. For instance,
micro/nanoelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) are widely used as an exciting or control mech-
anism in molecular mass sensing
[1013]
. Of MEMS/NEMS devices, nanomechanical resonators have re-
cently been highlighted for their extraordinary dynamic characteristics such as ultrahigh frequency and
are widely proposed for several interesting future applications in nanodevices
[1416]
. Hence, dynamical
modeling of the vibrating CNT gives nanoengineers a better understanding and leads them to design
nanodevices more accurately. The dynamics of the systems can be modeled via various techniques. The
experimental techniques to measure the properties of an individual CNT are relatively dicult as it
is hard to precisely handle nanometer dimensions. Therefore, theoretical methods including molecular
dynamics (MD) simulation
[17, 18]
and continuum mechanics
[1928]
are often applied to modeling the
vibration of CNTs. Unlike the continuum-based elasticity theories, MD simulation remains expensive
and time-consuming, especially for large-scale nanostructures. Moreover, it is shown by research that

Corresponding author. E-mail: p.soltani@semnaniau.ac.ir; payam.soltani@gmail.com; soltanip2@asme.org

98 ACTA MECHANICA SOLIDA SINICA 2014
continuum model results agree well with MD simulation for single- and double-walled tubes
[17, 28]
. Con-
sequently, continuum elastic structures such as shell-type models
[19, 20]
and beam models
[2127]
can be
easily and successfully used to predict the dynamical behavior of CNTs. For the beam theories, the
Euler-Bernoulli beam model
[2124]
as well as Timoshenko elasticity theory
[2527]
is widely employed in
literature.
Most of recent researches are limited to linear formulation, while the behavior of nano-structures, such
as CNTs are nonlinear innature andnonlinearity innano-devices occurs usually bylarge deformation
[29, 30]
or external loads
[31, 32]
. Since nonlinear modeling provides a more precise assessment, the nonlinear dy-
namical behavior of CNTs has received considerable attention in recent years
[27, 30, 33]
.
Although the earliest theoretical studies are on straight nanotubes, their longitudinal shape is not
perfectly straight
[34, 35]
. As a matter of fact , CNTs are long and bent, the bending being observed in
isolated CNTs between electrodes or composite systems made from CNTs
[36]
. Moreover, curved CNTs
refer here to CNTs that are supposed to be fabricated curved or made curved by buckling straight
CNTs throughcompressive axial loads
[37]
, and/or the waviness intrinsic to many manufacturing processes
clearly plays an important role in material stiness
[38]
.
Although CNTs are usually not straight and have some waviness along its length, few investigations
are known to be concerned with the vibration of curved CNTs. For instance, Mayoof and his co-worker
Hawwa
[39]
applied the classical Euler-Bernoulli theory to the investigation of nonlinear vibration of an
SWCNT with waviness along its axis. Moreover, the carbon nanotube is modeled as a harmonically
excited beam under a transverse force. In this literature, numerical solution is used to investigate the
dynamic response in the context of the bifurcation and chaos theory, where the nanotube has undergone
many period-doubling bifurcations, which were turned into chaos. This study is scale free and elimination
of the nano-scale eects may cause a signicant deviation in the results.
In this paper, nonlinear oscillations of a curved single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) under
an external harmonic excitation are investigated. The waviness is considered as a sinusoidal function
with small curvature amplitude. The SWCNT is modeled as a nonlocal Euler-Bernoulli elastic beam
resting on an elastic Winkler-type foundation and three typical boundary conditions are intended.
The governing equation of motion is derived using Hamiltons principle. Unlike previous study
[39]
, the
nonlinear equation obtained is solved analytically and an explicit formulation is derived for nonlinear
resonant frequency. A Galerkin method is utilized to reduce the partial dierential equation (PDE)
of motion to a nonlinear ordinary dierential equation (ODE), which is solved by the multiple-scale
perturbation method. The aim of this paper is to focus on the eects of waviness on the nonlinear
vibration of an SWCNT resonator. Moreover, the impact of variations of Winkler constant, boundary
condition, nonlocal parameter, aspect ratio and the excitation load-to-damping ratio on the nonlinear
fundamental frequencies is evaluated in detail. Moreover, it is found that the nonlinear model of the
curved CNT represents a quasi-linear characteristic in special conditions and the vibrating CNT behaves
linearly with a certain amount of curvature.
II. NONLINEAR VIBRATION ANALYSIS OF A CURVED SWCNT
A carbon nanotube, as a long slender nanostructure with a high aspect ratio, could be seen as
a one-dimensional structure as a nanobeam. Although the most accurate methods of simulating the
mechanical behavior of CNTs are those used in the atomic force elds in nano-scale (such as MD
and molecular mechanics), they are highly time-consuming and need much computational endeavors.
Thus, applying continuum theories could be an appropriate alternative method, which provides a
straightforward well-understood technique for predicting the mechanical behavior of these structures.
The main ambiguity in using continuum theories for CNTs simulation, which should be claried, is their
accuracy at the nanoscale. There are several published papers
[40]
involving application of a number
of continuum theories to successful nanotube modeling , and some others
[41]
have conrmed that the
results of applying continuum beam theories are consistent with experimental results as well. Moreover,
it has been proved that for thin SWCNTs, the results of nonlocal Euler-Bernoulli theory are in good
agreement with MD simulations
[42]
.
The carbon nanotube resonator under investigation is modelled as a doubly clamped, doubly pinned
and clamped-pinned elastic continuum Euler-Bernoulli beam under harmonic excitation.
Vol. 27, No. 1 P. Soltani et al.: Nonlinear and Quasi-Linear Behavior of Curved Carbon Nanotube 99
Figure 1 shows an SWCNT embedded in an elastic medium with length L and outer diameter
d
0
. The elastic medium is simulated by a Winkler model where k
W
symbolized the stiness of the
foundation. The nanotube is not perfectly straight but has some waviness with amplitude h. SWCNT
is assumed to vibrate only in the x-z plane. Any point in the nanotube along the x- and z-axes in the
displacement eld, denoted by

U(x, z, t) and

W(x, z, t), respectively, can be found as follows based on
the Euler-Bernoulli elastic theory:

U(x, z, t) = U(x, t) z
W(x, t)
x
,

W(x, z, t) = W(x, t) (1)
Fig. 1. Model of a curved SWCNT embedded in an Winkler elastic foundation.
where U(x, t) and W(x, t) are axial and transverse displacement components, respectively, in the mid-
plane, and t is time.
The von Karman type nonlinear strain-displacement relations for a curved beam give:

xx
=
U
x
+
1
2
_
W
x
_
2
+

x
W
x
z
_

2
W
x
2
_
,
zz
=
xz
= 0 (2)
where
xx
is the axial strain and (x) is the small waviness function. The waviness function shows
the shape variation of the CNT from a straight nanotube and can show the eects of the curvature in
the model.
The potential energy of strain V
s
is given by
V
s
=
1
2
_
L
0
_
A
(
xx

xx
)dAdx (3)
where A is the cross-sectional area of the nanotube and
xx
is the normal stress. By substituting Eq.(2)
into Eq.(3), the strain energy V
s
can be represented as
V
s
=
1
2
_
L
0
_
A
_

xx
_
U
x
+
1
2
_
W
x
_
2
+

x
W
x
z
_

2
W
x
2
_
__
dAdx
=
1
2
_
L
0
_
N
x
_
U
x
+
1
2
_
W
x
_
2
+

x
W
x
__
dx
_
L
0
M
x
_

2
W
x
2
_
(4)
where the normal resultant force N
x
and bending moment M
x
are dened as
N
x

_
A

xx
dA, M
x

_
A

xx
zdA (5)
The external work V
e
can be written as
V
e
=
_
L
0
f
e
Wdx (6)
100 ACTA MECHANICA SOLIDA SINICA 2014
where f
e
is the external load applied on the SWCNT and corresponds to
f
e
= k
W
W +p cos (t) (7)
The rst term of the above equation represents the eect of the surrounding medium and the second
term is related to the harmonic excitation load with amplitude p.
The kinetic energy T of the vibrating nanotube can be calculated from
T =
1
2
m
c
_
L
0
_
W
t
_
2
dx (8)
where m
c
is the mass per unit length of SWCNT.
In classical continuum mechanics, the stress tensor at a reference point x is denoted by the strain
tensor at that point but according to the nonlocal elasticity theory of Eringen
[43]
the stress at a reference
point x is considered to be a function of the strain eld at every point in the body. It can be concluded
that the value of the coecient e
0
adopted depends on the crystal structure in lattice dynamics and the
nature of the physics under investigation. More is required, especially experimental tests, to determine
e
0
a more accurately for CNTs. The scale eects are taken into account in this theory by considering
the internal size as a material parameter. The basic equations for linear, homogeneous, isotropic, and
nonlocal elastic solids with zero body force are given as follows:

xx
(e
0
a)
2
d
2

xx
dx
2
= E
xx
(9)
where E is the Youngs modulus and the parameter e
0
a is the scale coecient that takes the small
scale eect on the mechanical behavior of nanostructures. The dynamical version of the principle of the
virtual work or Hamiltons principle indicates that the dynamical equilibrium for a model occurs when
_
L
0
(T V
s
+V
e
)dt = 0 (10)
Substituting Eqs.(4), (6) and (8) into Eq.(10) and using the fundamental lemma of calculus of
variation leads to the dierential equations of motion as
U :
N
x
x
= 0 (11a)
W :

2
M
x
x
2
= m
c
_

2
W
t
2
_

x
_
N
x
W
x
_

x
_
N
x
Z
x
_
+f
e
(11b)
The corresponding boundary conditions at the ends of the nanotube (x = 0, L) require
x = 0, L : U = 0 or N
x
= 0, W = 0 or
M
x
= 0, M
x
= 0 or
W
x
= 0 (12)
From Eqs.(2), (5) and (9), the normal resultant force and bending moment can be expressed as
N
x
(e
0
a)
2

2
N
x
x
2
= EA
_
U
x
+
1
2
_
W
x
_
2
+

x
W
x
_
(13a)
M
x
(e
0
a)
2

2
M
x
x
2
= EI

2
W
x
2
(13b)
By sequence substituting Eqs.(11a) and (11b) into Eqs.(13a) and (13b), the explicit expressions of
nonlocal normal resultant force N
x
and bending moment M
x
can be obtained as:
N
x
= EA
_
U
x
+
1
2
_
W
x
_
2
+

x
W
x
_
(14a)
M
x
= EI

2
W
x
2
+ (e
0
a)
2
_
m
c
_

2
W
t
2
_

x
_
N
x
W
x
_

x
_
N
x

x
_
+f
e
_
(14b)
Vol. 27, No. 1 P. Soltani et al.: Nonlinear and Quasi-Linear Behavior of Curved Carbon Nanotube 101
The governing equations of motion for the curved SWCNTs can be derived by inserting Eqs.(14)
into Eqs.(11):

2
U
x
2
+

2
W
x
2
W
x
+

x
_

x
W
x
_
= 0 (15a)
EI

4
W
x
4
(e
0
a)
2
_

2
W
x
2
+

2

x
2
_
_
m
c

4
W
x
2
t
2
+EA
_

3
W
x
3
+

2
W
x
2
_
2
+
W
x
_

3
W
x
3
+

3

x
3
_
+2
_

2
W
x
2

x
2
_
+
_

3
W
x
3
__
+ 2EA
_

3
W
x
3
+

3

x
3
___

2
U
x
2
+
W
x

2
W
x
2
_
+

x
_
W
x

x
__
+m
c

2
W
t
2
= EA
__

2
W
x
2
+

2

x
2
_

4
W
x
4
+

4

x
4
__ _
U
x
+
W
x
_
1
2
W
x
+

x
__
(15b)
By integrating over the domain [0-L] from Eq.(15a) and setting the boundary conditions in Eq.(12),
the displacement along x axis can be obtained as
U =
_
x
0
_
1
2
_
W
x
_
2
+

x
W
x
_
dx +x
1
L
_
L
0
_
1
2
_
W
x
_
2
+

x
W
x
_
dx (16)
By substituting Eq.(16) into Eq.(15b) and using Eq.(7), the nonlinear equation of motion for the non-
local SWCNT modelled as Euler-Bernoulli beam under harmonic transverse load leads to the following
equation:
EI

4
W
x
4
+m
c
_

2
W
t
2
e
0
a
2

4
W
x
2
t
2
_
+k
W
W (e
0
a)
2
k
W

2
W
x
2
= p cos(t)
+
EA
L
_
L
0
__
1
2
_
W
x
_
2
+

x
W
x
__
dx
__

x
2
+

2
W
x
2
_
(e
0
a)
2
_

4
W
x
4
+

4

x
4
__
(17)
A phenomenological damping can be added to Eq.(17) to make the equation of carbon nanotube
motion more realistic
[44]
EI

4
W
x
4
+ 2
W
t
+m
c
_

2
W
t
2
e
0
a
2

4
W
x
2
t
2
_
+k
W
W (e
0
a)
2
k
W

2
W
x
2
= p cos(t)
+
EA
L
_
L
0
__
1
2
_
W
x
_
2
+

x
W
x
__
dx
__

x
2
+

2
W
x
2
_
(e
0
a)
2
_

4
W
x
4
+

4

x
4
__
(18)
For this model, three applied boundary conditions have been considered:
A nanotube with both ends clamped or the clampedclamped boundary condition (C-C):
W (0, t)
x
= W (0, t) =
W (L, t)
x
= W (L, t) = 0 (19)
A nanotube with one end clamped and the other simply supported , i.e. clampedpinned condition
(C-P):
W (0, t)
x
= W (0, t) =
W (L, t)
x
= W (L, t) = 0 (20)
And a nanotube with both ends simply supported or pinnedpinned condition (P-P):

2
W (0, t)
x
2
= W (0, t) =

2
W (L, t)
x
2
= W (L, t) = 0 (21)
III. SOLVING METHOD
A Galerkin approach is used to reduce the partial dierential Eq.(18) to a nonlinear ordinary
dierential equation (ODE).The process of an approximation Galerkin method starts by separating the
transverse deection of the deformed beam W(x, t) as
W(x, t) = y(x) w(t) (22)
102 ACTA MECHANICA SOLIDA SINICA 2014
where w(t) is temporal function and y(x) indicates the fundamental mode shape that satises the
boundary conditions.
Hence, the rst mode of shape function for C-C boundary conditions can take the following form:
y(x) = cosh
_
4.73
x
L
_
0.9825 sinh
_
4.73
x
L
_
cos
_
4.73
x
L
_
+ 0.9825 sin
_
4.73
x
L
_
(23)
The basis function for C-P state will be:
y(x) = cosh
_
3.92
x
L
_
1.0008 sinh
_
3.92
x
L
_
cos
_
3.92
x
L
_
+ 1.0008 sin
_
3.92
x
L
_
(24)
and for P-P condition y(x) may be given as
y(x) = sin
_
3.14
x
L
_
(25)
Moreover, the sinusoidal small rise function is introduced by (x) = hsin(x/L) where h is the
amplitude of the waviness of the nanotube.
By substituting the curvature function (x) and Eq.(22) into Eq.(18) and multiplying this equation
by the mode shape y(x), then integrating over the nanotube length, the general form of the nonlinear
ODE of the model is reduced to
d
2
w
dt
2
+ 2
d w
dt
+ c
1
w + c
2
w
2
+ c
3
w
3
=

f cos (t) (26)
where the coecients of the Eq.(26) are dened as follows according to the boundary conditions.
For the C-C boundary condition:
=
L
6

L
6
m
c
+ 12.3L
4
m
c
(e
0
a)
2
c
1
=
500.5L
2
EI + 47.3L
2
EAh
2
+L
6
k
W
+ 12.3L
4
k
W
(e
0
a)
2
+ 467.5EAh
2
(e
0
a)
2
L
6
m
c
+ 12.3L
4
m
c
(e
0
a)
2
=
2
0
c
2
=
127L
2
EAh + 3863.1EAh(e
0
a)
2
L
6
m
c
+ 12.3L
4
m
c
(e
0
a)
2
, c
3
=
75.6L
6
EA + 3079EAh
2
(e
0
a)
2
L
6
m
c
+ 12.3L
4
m
c
(e
0
a)
2

f =
L
6
p
L
6
m
c
+ 12.3L
4
m
c
(e
0
a)
2
, = 0.83
(27)
For the C-P boundary condition:
=
L
6

L
6
m
c
+ 11.5L
4
m
c
(e
0
a)
2
c
1
=
237.6L
2
EI + 46.4L
2
EAh
2
+L
6
k
W
+ 11.5L
4
k
W
(e
0
a)
2
+ 458.3EAh
2
(e
0
a)
2
L
6
m
c
+ 11.5L
4
m
c
(e
0
a)
2
=
2
0
c
2
=
117.7L
2
EAh + 2007.1EAh(e
0
a)
2
L
6
m
c
+ 11.5L
4
m
c
(e
0
a)
2
, c
3
=
66.3L
6
EA + 1368.5EA(e
0
a)
2
L
6
m
c
+ 11.5L
4
m
c
(e
0
a)
2

f =
L
6
p
L
6
m
c
+ 11.51L
4
m
c
(e
0
a)
2
, = 0.86
(28)
and for the P-P boundary condition:
=
L
6

L
6
m
c
+ 9.8L
4
m
c
(e
0
a)
2
c
1
=
97.4L
2
EI + 48.7L
2
EAh
2
+L
6
k
W
+ 9.8L
4
k
W
(e
0
a)
2
+ 480.6EAh
2
(e
0
a)
2
L
6
m
c
+ 9.8L
4
m
c
(e
0
a)
2
=
2
0
c
2
=
103.3L
2
EAh + 1019.6EAh(e
0
a)
2
L
6
m
c
+ 9.8L
4
m
c
(e
0
a)
2
, c
3
=
48.7L
6
EA+ 480.6EA(e
0
a)
2
L
6
m
c
+ 9.8L
4
m
c
(e
0
a)
2

f =
L
6
p
L
6
m
c
+ 9.8L
4
m
c
(e
0
a)
2
, = 0.9
(29)
Vol. 27, No. 1 P. Soltani et al.: Nonlinear and Quasi-Linear Behavior of Curved Carbon Nanotube 103
Moreover, for convenience and generality, the following non-dimensional variables are introduced in
the present analysis:
w =
w
r
,
0
t = , =

0
, c
1
=
2
0
, c
2
=
c
2
r
c
1
, c
3
=
c
3
r
2
c
1
, f =

f
r c
1
, =

0
, r =
_
I
A
(30)
Hence, the non-dimensional form of the equation of motion (26) becomes
d
2
w
d
2
+ 2
dw
d
+w +c
2
w
2
+c
3
w
3
= f cos () (31)
This equation represents the nonlinear vibration of the curved nanotube under the external harmonic
electric force, which involves the quadratic and cubic nonlinear terms due to the waviness, and the
stretching of the nanotube, respectively.
3.1. Multiple Scale Method
In this study, the perturbation method of multiple scales
[45]
is used to obtain an analytical solution
for the nonlinear equation (31).
Introduce a small perturbation parameter to expand w into w = q and make the exciting force
f and the damping force both of the same order as the non-linear term c
3
. We choose =
2
and
f =
3
g, so that the non-linear oscillation Eq.(31) becomes
d
2
q
d
2
+ 2v
2
dq
d
+q +c
2
q
2
+c
3

2
q
3
=
2
g cos () (32)
where is the coecient related to the boundary conditions.
We assume that the frequency of the excitation is close to the fundamental frequency
0
accordingly
and the ratio of nonlinear frequency to linear frequency leads to
= 1 +
2
(33)
where and are nonlinear frequency ratio and nonlinear detuning parameter
[46]
, in that order.
By assuming q
0
() = q(T
0
, T
1
, T
2
) and the scaled times T
n
=
n
(n = 0, 1, 2), the response of the
model is expanded as
q(T, ) = q
0
(T
0
, T
1
, T
2
) +q
1
(T
0
, T
1
, T
2
) +
2
q
2
(T
0
, T
1
, T
2
) (34)
Substituting Eq.(33) and Eq.(34) into Eq.(32) by using the chain rule and equating the coecient
like powers of , we have
O(
0
) : D
2
0
q
0
+q
0
= 0
(35a)
O(
1
) : D
2
0
q
1
+q
1
= 2D
0
D
1
q
0
c
2
q
2
0
(35b)
O(
2
) : D
2
0
q
2
+q
2
= D
2
1
q
0
c
3
q
3
0
2D
0
D
1
q
1
2D
0
D
2
q
0
2vD
0
q
0
2c
2
q
1
q
0
+g cos (T
0
+T
2
) (35c)
where D
n
= /T
n
(n = 0, 1, 2).
The general solution of Eq.(35a) in the complex form is written as
q
0
(T
0
, T
1
, T
2
) = A(T
1
, T
2
) e
iT0
+

A(T
1
, T
2
) e
iT0
(36)
where A is complex amplitude and

A represents the complex conjugate of A.
Substituting q
0
into Eq.(35b), we have
D
2
0
q
1
+q
1
= c
2
_
A
2
e
2iT0
+ 2A

A+

A
2
e
2iT0
_
+ 2iD
1

Ae
iT0
2iD
1
Ae
iT0
(37)
To eliminate secular terms, set the coecients of

A(
1
,
2
) e
iT0
or A(
1
,
2
) e
iT0
to zero and the
result will be obtained when A = A(T
2
). Therefore ,the solution of Eq.(37) is expressed as
q
1
=
c
2
3
_
A
2
e
2iT0
6A

A+

A
2
e
2iT0
_
(38)
104 ACTA MECHANICA SOLIDA SINICA 2014
Similarly, substituting Eqs.(36) and (38) into Eq.(35c) gives
D
2
0
q
2
+q
2
=
_
c
3
A
2

2
3
c
2
2
A
3
_
e
3iT0

8
3
i
_
e
2iT0
_
c
2
A
dA
dT
1

_
2i
dA
dT
2
+ 3c
3
A
2

A+ 2ivA
10
3
c
2
A
2

A
_
e
iT0
+g cos (T
0
+T
2
) + cc (39)
where cc denotes the complex conjugate of the existing terms.
Eliminating the secular term from Eq.(39) results in
2i
dA
dT
2
+ 3c
3
A
2

A + 2ivA
10
3
c
2
A
2

A = 0 (40)
Letting A = ae
i
/2 and

A = ae
i
/2 in Eq.(40) and separating the real and imaginary parts, we
have
a
T
2
= va +
1
2
g sin () (41a)
a

T
2
= a
3
8
c
3
a
3

5
12
c
2
a
3

1
2
g cos () (41b)
where a and are real and is dened as
T
2
= (42)
To determine the characteristic of the solution, we rst locate the singular points and then examine
the motion in their neighborhood. As the amplitude and phase are not changing at the singular point,
the response of the system become steady-state motion. The steady-state motion occurs when a/T
2
=
/T
2
= 0 which correspond to the solution of
1
2
g sin () = va (43a)
1
2
g cos () = a +
3
8
c
3
a
3

5
12
c
2
a
3
(43b)
By squaring and adding these equations, the nonlinear detuning parameter can be found analyt-
ically.
=
3
8
c
3
a
2

5
12
c
2
a
2

2
g
2
4a
2
v
2
(44)
where a represents the maximum vibration amplitude and is expressed as
a =
g
2v
(45)
By substituting a into Eq.(44), is expressed as
=
_
3
8
c
3

5
12
c
2
_

2
g
2
4v
2
=
_
3
32
c
3

5
48
c
2
__
k

_
2 _

_
2
(46)
and the nonlinear resonance frequency ratio can be represented as
= 1 +
2
= 1 +
_
3
32
c
3

5
48
c
2
_

2
G
2
(47)
Equation (47) shows that the nonlinear frequency ratio is a function of the quadratic and cubic
nonlinear coecient (c
2
and c
3
), the boundary condition , and load-to-damping ratio G f/.
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
In this paper, the forced nonlinear vibration of a slightly curved SWCNT is simulated using the
nonlocal Euler-Bernoulli continuum model and the nonlinear characteristic equation is solved by the
perturbation method. The nonlinear frequency ratio in Eq.(47) obtained shows that the nonlinear vi-
brational behavior of a slightly curved nanotube is related to the load-to-damping ratio G, boundary
conditions , and the quadratic and cubic nonlinear terms of the model (c
1
and c
2
). For numerical
evaluation, a (43, 0) SWCNT is investigated according to Ref.[47]. Moreover, the Winkler constant and
aspect ratio are taken as k
W
= 1 MPa and L/d
0
= 20, respectively
[29]
while the load-to-damping ratio
is assumed to be G = 3 for excitation.
Vol. 27, No. 1 P. Soltani et al.: Nonlinear and Quasi-Linear Behavior of Curved Carbon Nanotube 105
4.1. Verication
To show the correctness of the perturbation analytical method, the results need to be compared
with a numerical method. Table 1 includes the frequency ratio of the SWCNT considered with C-C
boundary conditions for three dierent amplitudes of curvature h, evaluated from the present analytical
method and the Runge-Kutta numerical method. It can be seen from the results that there is good
agreement between the numerical method and perturbation solution.
Table 1. Comparison of nonlinear frequency ratio results
Method
Nonlinear frequency ratio
h = 2 nm h = 4 nm h = 8 nm
Numerical method (Runge-Kutta) 0.9879 0.9267 0.9491
Perturbation method (This work) 0.9888 0.9267 0.95
4.2. Quasi-linear Behavior of the Nonlinear Model
According to Eqs.(27) and (30), the quadratic and cubic nonlinear coecients of the model (c
2
and
c
3
) vary with the amplitude of curvature h and Fig.2(a) represents the variations of these coecients
against h. As can be seen, the quadratic nonlinear coecient c
2
changes greatly with h. In fact, with an
increasein the waviness of the nanotube h, c
2
increases to a certain maximum value and then starts to
decrease dramatically. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the cubic nonlinear coecient c
3
to the waviness
of the model is not very considerable and c
3
decreases slightly with h. These variations of the nonlinear
terms result in an interesting dynamical behavior of the nanotube. To describe this phenomenon more
clearly, the changes of the nonlinear frequency ratio against the amplitude of curvature h are plotted
in Fig.2(b). According to the nature of the nonlinear terms indicated through Fig.2(a), the nonlinear
frequency ratio takes a value greater than 1 for small values of the curvature and tends to decrease with
increasing amplitude of curvature h. To this end, in a certain amount of the waviness h, the nonlinear
frequency ratio reaches to about one (

= 1) while the nonlinear frequency becomes equal to the linear
amount of the resonant frequency. In this case, although the mathematical model is still considerably
nonlinear , the curved CNT behaves as a linear straight nanotube. We call the certain amplitude of
nanotube curvature h
quasi
. More simply, for a nonlinear curved vibrating nanotube, a special amount of
curvature h
quasi
can be found in which the nonlinear system produces linear results and the dynamical
characteristics of the model can be easily found through its linear model. The variations of the h
quasi
against the aspect ratio for dierent Winkler constants (k
W
) and dierent nonlocal parameters (e
0
a)
are plotted in Figs.3 and 4 , respectively. The gures indicate that the nonlocal eects do not aect
h
quasi
seriously while it decreases with the stiness of the medium, and in sti foundations, h
quasi
is
almost constant independent to the aspect ratio of the nanotube.
Fig. 2. (a) The eects of quadratic nonlinearity term c
2
and cubic nonlinearity term c
3
on nonlinearity with dierent
curvature h; (b) The variation ratio against the curvature h.
106 ACTA MECHANICA SOLIDA SINICA 2014
Fig. 3. The eects of Winkler constant k
W
on the curvature
of quasi-linear point h
quasi
with dierent aspect ratio L/d
0
.
Fig. 4. The eects of nonlocal parameter e
0
a on the curva-
ture of quasi-linear point h
quasi
with dierent aspect ratio
L/d
0
.
4.3. Variation Ratio
As mentioned previously, the main purpose of this paper is to investigate the inuence of waviness
on the vibrational behavior of SWCNT. Results show that curvature has a great eect on the dynamical
behavior of an SWCNT. In addition, the impact of the curvature on the nonlinear vibration of model
can be a function of several parameters such as the small-scale parameter, Winkler constant, excitation
load-to-damping ratio, boundary condition and aspect ratio of nanotube. Therefore, the variation ratio
is dened as a parameter that shows the eects of waviness, obviously.
variation ratio =

h

0
(48)
where
h
and
0
are the nonlinear frequency ratio of nanotube with waviness h nm and straight
nanotube without waviness (h = 0), in that order.
Certainly, the variation ratio provides a better illustration for the pure eects of the curvature of
the SWCNT. In fact, increasing this ratio implies increasing the importance of the curvature.
4.4. Parametric Study
Based on Eqs.(47) and (48), the impact of the curvature on the nonlinear vibration of the model
presented can be a function of several parameters including the small-scale parameter, Winkler con-
stant, excitation load-to-damping ratio, boundary condition and aspect ratio of nanotube. Therefore,
to investigate the eects of the above-mentioned parameters on the variation ratio, a parametric study
is performed. Here, the variation ratio is plotted against the amplitude of waviness h while the eects of
a certain parameter have been investigated in each gure (Figs.5-9). All gures follow a pattern similar
to that in Fig.2(b) that is presented to show the inuence of curvature on the nonlinear frequency ratio.
This behavior can be explained in detail that nonlinear frequency ratio
0
is dened for a straight
nanotube (h = 0) and is independent of curvature. In contrast,
h
that is obtained by Eq.(47) is directly
related to waviness amplitude h (Fig.2(b)). Therefore, when increasing the curvature h,
0
remains
constant while
h
as well as variation ratio vary within the same shape. As seen in these gures, the
variation ratio completely serves as a function of the changes in the rise amplitude. For an SWCNT
with a relatively slight waviness, by increasing the rise of curvature the variation ratio decreases steeply,
while its slope starts to decrease until after a certain curvature h this trend becomes reverse.
The stiness of the model, owing to the elastic foundation and boundary conditions, can signicantly
aect dynamical behavior of curved SWCNT. The inuences of the mechanical properties of the elastic
medium around the SWCNT are studied in Fig.5. A Winkler-type foundation model is assumed to
simulate the interaction between the SWCNT and the elastic medium which is characterized with the
Winkler constant k
W
. As can be seen from this gure, the spring constant k
W
of the surrounding elastic
medium has a pronounced eect on the variation ratio response curves of SWCNT. The results are
shown for k
W
= 1 MPa, 10 MPa and 100 MPa and represent the variation ratio increases by increasing
the Winkler constant especially when k
W
exceeds the value k
W
= 100 MPa. This means that when
the Winkler constant is large enough, the variation ratio tends to be one and this issue causes the
vibrational behavior of the wavy SWCNT to be almost close to the behavior of the straight SWCNT
case.
Vol. 27, No. 1 P. Soltani et al.: Nonlinear and Quasi-Linear Behavior of Curved Carbon Nanotube 107
Fig. 5. The variation ratio against the curvature h with
dierent value of Winkler constant k
W
.
Fig. 6. The variation ratio against the curvature h with
dierent types of boundary conditions.
Fig. 7. The variation ratio against the curvature h with
dierent value of nonlocal parameter e
0
a.
Fig. 8. The variation ratio against the curvature h with
dierent value of aspect ratio L/d
0
.
The boundary stiness has the greatest inuence on the
variation ratio toward the other parameters. Since no study
is known to determine the correct conditions of end sup-
ports for SWCNTs, the model has been solved for three stan-
dardboundary conditions, namely, pinned-pinned, clamped-
pinned and clamped-clamped conditions (Fig.6). As ex-
pected, boundary stiness can aect variation ratio in a
similar manner as the medium stiness does. Therefore,
by increasing the stiness of model from pinned-pinned
to clamped-clamped, the dependence of the nonlinear fre-
quency ratio on the curvature is decreased. It can be con-
Fig. 9 The variation ratio against the curvature h
with dierent value of excitation load-to-damping
ratio G.
cluded that, this dependency is more signicant for a pinned-pinned SWCNT with the lower values
of curvature amplitude. For instance, at a slight amplitude h = 2 nm, the variation ratio decreases
dramatically from about 0.9 for clamped-clamped to 0.55 for simply supported end with immovable
ends.
The importance of small-scale coecient e
0
a in the variation ratio is illustrated in Fig.7, in which the
variation ratio is plotted against the curvature h for a dierent nonlocal parameter e
0
a (e
0
a = 0, 2, 4 nm,
Note that the nonlocal parameter e
0
a = 0 nm corresponds to classical SWCNTs without nonlocal eect).
As discussed previously, because of the elimination of size eects in the classical continuum theories,
this kind of simulation may deviate considerably from the precise dynamical behavior of nanostructures
and cause meaningful errors in the results. The Eringens nonlocal elasticity theory develops the size
dependence of nanostructures by applying the nonlocal constant e
0
a in the governing equations. This
theory considers forces between atoms as linked by elastic springs
[39]
while the local continuum model
assumes the spring constant to take on an innite value. Therefore, the nonlocal theory makes SWCNT
more exible and reduces the stiness of the model in order to represent a more accurate simulation in
nano-scale. The gure reveals that the variation ratio declines as the nonlocal coecient e
0
a is increased.
This means that on the basis of the nonlocal beam model the eects of curvature on the vibration of
naotube becomes less important compared with the local counterpart. In addition, according to the
associated gure, the signicance of nano-size eects becomes clearer in the minimum of the variation
ratio where (h 4 nm).
108 ACTA MECHANICA SOLIDA SINICA 2014
Figure 8 shows the eect of aspect ratio L/d
0
on the variation ratio of the clamped-clamped curved
SWCNT. It can be found that the frequency is signicantly inuenced by the length-to-outer-diameter
ratio. As seen, the variation ratio is increased with increasing aspect ratio, especially when the amplitude
of curvature h is about between 3 nm and 5 nm (3 nm < h <5 nm) and for long nanotubes. For example,
when the rise of model is h = 4 nm, a slender SWCNT with L/d
0
= 80 presents a growth about 0.11 in
the variation ratio compared with a stocky SWCNT with L/d
0
= 20. This indicates that for a SWCNT
with a suciently high aspect ratio, the curvature could not aect the nonlinear vibration of SWCNT
and the variation ratio will be close to one. Consequently, the modeling of the straight nanotube with
suitably great length is accurate enough instead of a curved one.
As mentioned before, one of the noteworthy features of this study is considering the harmonic force
in calculated equations of motion. The amplitude of this force is described as a dimensionless parameter,
namely, excitation load-to-damping ratio G which is the nal parameter to investigate, in this section.
Since the damping of the model has been assumed constant, the variation of G can help a lot in exploring
the eect of excitation load on the variation ratio. This eect is studied by changing ratio G from 1 up
to 3 (the range of G is measured in values similar to those in Ref.[48]), whereas the other parameters are
invariable. The variation ratio is plotted as a function of the curvature h and the ratio of the excitation
load-to-damping G, in Fig.9. It is shown by comparing G = 1, 2 and 3 that in lower G, the eects
of curvature are negligible and the nonlinear frequency ratio of nanotube with waviness is inclined
to near the nonlinear frequency ratio for a straight nanotube. It should be noted that the excitation
loading could be due to mechanical loading in nano-devices such as NEMS. Of particular interest is
the continuum modeling of this kind of systems causes serious errors in the prediction of dynamical
behavior for not taking curvature eects into consideration.
V. CONCLUSION
An embedded SWCNT with a slight curvature vibrating in a harmonic electric force eld was
considered. The nonlinear-nonlocal governing equation of motion was derived based on Euler-Bernoulli
elastic theory and an analytical solution was found for the nonlinear resonant frequency of the SWCNT.
The model adopting numerical solution shows strong nonlinearity, and is related to the curvature of the
nanotube. However, in a certain amount of curvature, the vibrational nanotube behaves linearly with
a strong nonlinear model. This condition was called the quasi-linear behavior of the curved vibrating
nanotube and the parametric dependency of this phenomenon was investigated and explained carefully.
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