Computational Materials Science 51 (2012) 303313

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Computational Materials Science

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/commatsci

A review on the application of nonlocal elastic models in modeling of carbon

nanotubes and graphenes
B. Arash, Q. Wang
Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3T 5V6

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 28 June 2011
Received in revised form 20 July 2011
Accepted 22 July 2011
Available online 28 August 2011
Keywords:
Carbon nanotubes
Graphene sheets
Nonlocal continuum theory
Modeling and simulations
Small scale effect

a b s t r a c t
This paper reviews recent research studies on the application of the nonlocal continuum theory in modeling of carbon nanotubes and graphene sheets. A variety of nonlocal continuum models in modeling of
the two materials under static and dynamic loadings are introduced and reviewed. The superiority of
nonlocal continuum models to their local counterparts, the necessity of the calibration of the small-scale
parameter, and the applicability of nonlocal continuum models are discussed. A brief introduction of the
nonlocal beam, plate, and shell models is particularly presented. Summary and recommendations for
future research are also provided. This paper is intended to provide an introduction of the development
of the nonlocal continuum theory in modeling the two nano-materials, review the different nonlocal continuum models, and inspire further applications of the nonlocal continuum theory to nano-material
modeling.
2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Nanoscience and nanotechnology have opened a new area in
materials science, engineering, chemical, medicine, electronics,
biomaterials and energy production leading to the next industrial
revolution to begin. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) [1] and graphene
sheets (GSs) [2] are two of the nano-materials which have great
potential in designs of new sensors, gas detection and composite
materials and arouse much attention among communities. The
superior mechanical, electronic and thermal properties of the
two nano-materials make them instrumental for the advancement
and innovation in wide potential applications [313], such as gas
detection, graphene transistors, solar cells, ultra-capacitors, mammalian and microbial detection, diagnosis devices and ultrastrength composite materials.
Besides experimental efforts [13,14] which may be formidable
and expensive at the nano-scale, there are three main approaches
for modeling of nanostructures: (a) atomistic modeling, (b) hybrid
atomisticcontinuum mechanics and (c) continuum mechanics.
Atomic modeling includes techniques such as classical molecular
dynamics (MD), tight-binding molecular dynamics (TBMD) and
the density functional theory (DFT) [1520]. Hybrid atomistic
continuum mechanics allows one to directly incorporate
interatomic potential into the continuum analysis. This can be
accomplished by equating the molecular potential energy of a
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: q_wang@umanitoba.ca (Q. Wang).
0927-0256/$ - see front matter 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.commatsci.2011.07.040

nanostructured material with the mechanical strain energy of the

representative volume element of a continuum model [2123].
Continuum mechanics includes classical (or local) beam, plate and
shell theories that are practical for analyzing nanostructures for
large-scale systems [2426]. Continuum mechanics approach is less
computationally expensive than the former two approaches and
their formulations are relatively simple. These advantages make
continuum modeling employed as an alternative way to simulate
some phenomena in nanostructures such as buckling [27,28], wave
propagation [29,30] and free vibration [3135]. Since the continuum mechanics theory is based on the continuous assumption in
modeling, verifications of results by the continuum theory from
available results via molecular dynamics or experiments are indispensable when applying the theory in analysis of nano-materials.
In these continuum mechanics models, CNTs composed of covalent bonded carbon atoms are treated as continuous and homogenous macrostructures whereas their material microstructures,
such as the lattice spacing between individual carbon atoms, are
ignored. In this regard, the stress at a given point is defined as
the function of the strain at that point, the nature of classical or local continuum mechanics. Although research efforts have been
conducted with classical or local continuum modeling, their applicability at very small scales is questionable. The limited applicability is due to the fact that at small size the lattice spacing between
individual atoms becomes increasingly important and the discrete
structure of the material can no longer be homogenized into a continuum. In other words, the material properties at the nano-scale
are size dependent and thus the small length scale effect should

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B. Arash, Q. Wang / Computational Materials Science 51 (2012) 303313

be considered for a better prediction of the mechanical behavior of

nano-materials. Size effects often become prominent at nanometer
scales. Therefore, cautious employment of classical continuum
models has been proclaimed when directly applying to nanomaterial analysis [3742]. The application of continuum mechanics
by accommodating or considering the size dependence in nanomaterials becomes another topic of major concern. Therefore, the
application of nonlocal continuum mechanics allowing for the
small-scale effects to analysis of nano-materials in the study of
nanostructures has been initiated.
The essence of the nonlocal elasticity theory developed by
Eringen [43,44] indicates that the stress state at a given reference
point is a function of the strain field at every point in the body,
and hence the theory could account for information about the
long range forces between atoms and the scale effect. Peddieson
et al. [37] showed that nonlocal continuum mechanics could
potentially employed in nanotechnology applications. Wang
[40] indicated that nonlocal elasticity theory should be used for
an accurate prediction of wave propagation in CNTs, and first
estimated the range of the scale parameter used in the theory.
Applications of nonlocal continuum mechanics have been conducted by many researchers in the topics of static [38,39,
4568] and dynamic analysis [36,69108].
All the aforementioned studies are based on Eringens nonlocal
elasticity theory. A consensus is reached that the refined nonlocal
models are superior to their local counterparts. However, since
the theory also belongs to the category of continuum mechanics,
the applicability of the nonlocal theories needs to be justified.
The small-scale effect depends on the crystal structure in lattice
dynamics and the nature of physics under investigation. Thus, verification of nonlocal continuum models is essential to identify the
magnitude of the small-scale parameter, e0a, which is the key in
revealing scale effect in models.
After the nonlocal elastic theory was introduced, many investigations started applying the nonlocal continuum theory in analyses of nano-materials, especially studies on CNTs and GSs. The
static analysis [38,39,4568], free vibration [6990,98106] and
wave propagation [36,40,9197,107,108] of nano-materials were
widely studied and the continuum models were reformulated
based on the nonlocal continuum theory. This paper aims to provide a brief review on enormous studies invested on the application of nonlocal elastic models in modeling of CNTs and GSs to
(1) summarize the state-of-the-art achievements, (2) reveal major
challenges in the modeling, and (3) clarify the key issues of future
research studies. To this end, Section 2 focuses on applications of
nonlocal continuum models in static analysis of CNTs and GSs. Section 3 surveys applications of nonlocal continuum models in dynamic analysis of CNTs and GSs. Section 4 presents a
summarization of elastic models. Section 5 gives a summary and
recommendations for future research studies.

conditions such as axial loading [38,39,4750], radial and bending

loading [5155], thermal loading [5659] and torsion [6063].
2.1. Bending of CNTs under static transverse loadings
Wang and Liew [45] investigated the scale effect on static deformation of micro- and nano-rods or tubes subjected to transverse
loadings using nonlocal EulerBernoulli beam theory and
Timoshenko beam theory. The major finding on cantilever nanorod is selected as an example to be reviewed and introduced below.
The solutions for the cantilever with length L subjected to a
concentrated force P at x = l via the nonlocal EulerBernoulli and
Timoshenko beam theories are provided to be [45]

wE x

1 Px l3
Px3 Plx
Hx l Pe0 a2 x lHx l

6
6
2
EI

1
1 Px l3
Px3 Plx
wT x
Hx l Pe0 a2 x lHx l

EI
6
6
2

XL2
EI

Px Pl xHx l
2

where subscripts E and T denote EulerBernoulli and Timoshenko

beam theories, respectively. H(x l) is the Heaviside function,
t d 2 is the shear parameter, t is Poissons ratio, and
X GAEIjL2 1
8j L
d is the diameter of the rod or tube under investigation. The coefficient, dL, represents the slenderness of the structure.
Eqs. (1) and (2) show that the small-scale term, P(e0a)2(x l)
H(x l), affects the response of the cantilevered rod or tube only
for the space domain x P l. In addition, from Eq. (2), it is observed
that the nonlocal Timoshenko beam theory does not induce
additional scale effect on basis of its counterpart, nonlocal Euler
Bernoulli beam theory, for the cantilevered rod or tube.
They further investigated an additional example on the deformation profiles along the length of a cantilevered rod or tube subjected to a concentrated force at the middle as shown in Fig. 1. In
Fig. 1, the scale effect and the diameter-to-length ratio have been
given as e0La 0:2 and dL 0:2, respectively. A noticeable observation is that there is no scale effect on the deformation at all locations on the left side of the point force, and such effect initiates
immediately after the location of the point force. Their results also
showed that the small-scale effect is noticeable for nanostructures
in their static responses. On the other hand, the scale effect is
obscure when the length of the structure is over 20 nm. Therefore,

2. Application in static analysis of CNTs and GSs

As static loadings in transverse direction lead to bending of
nano-materials, the development and application of nonlocal continuum mechanics in investigating scale effects on static responses
of nano-materials are of great significance in studying their
mechanical behaviors. A benchmark work by Wang and Liew [45]
studied the small-scale effects on static responses of nano-materials. In addition, CNTs are susceptible to buckling or structural instability due to their long and hollow tubular structures [14,15]. This
can significantly influence their performance as structural or functional elements in CNT-based nano-composites and nano-electromechanical systems [35,9,10]. Therefore, tremendous efforts
have also been devoted to buckling of CNTs under diverse loading

Fig. 1. Static deformation of a cantilever structure subjected to a force at the middle

by using local and nonlocal models: local EulerBernoulli beam model (LE),
nonlocal EulerBernoulli beam model (NE), local Timoshenko beam model (LT) and
nonlocal Timoshenko beam model (NT) [45].

B. Arash, Q. Wang / Computational Materials Science 51 (2012) 303313

they concluded that scale effects would not manifest for typical
micro-systems such as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)
which have lengths of the order lm. From the simulation results,
they concluded that the scale effect manifests itself the most at
the location of the point force. In addition, the shear effect is evident for nanostructures indicating the importance of applying
the Timoshenko beam theory in static analysis of shorter nanostructures. They concluded that the nonlocal Timoshenko beam
theory does not introduce additional scale effect on basis of the
nonlocal EulerBernoulli beam theory for cantilever and simply
supported nano-rods or tubes. However, it does introduce additional scale effect for fixedfixed nano-beams.
Nano-beams as potential nano-switches subjected to a transverse electrostatic force within the framework of nonlocal elasticity theory to account for the small-scale effect were studied by
Yang et al. [46]. The transverse electrostatic force from an applied
voltage and intermolecular force was approximated as a linear
distributed load model. Closed-form solutions were obtained for
cantilever and fixedfixed nano-beams. It was found that the
small-scale effect contributes to the pull-in instability and freestanding behavior of cantilever and fixedfixed nano-beams in
quite different ways.
2.2. Buckling of CNTs and GSs
The buckling analysis of CNTs subjected to axial loading using
the nonlocal continuum theory was investigated by Sudak [38].
In the study, a model based on nonlocal continuum mechanics
for the column buckling of multi-walled carbon nanotubes
(MWCNTs) was presented which clearly demonstrated that
small-scale effects significantly contribute to buckling solution of
MWCNTs. Explicit expressions for the critical buckling load and
strain were derived for axially loaded rods/tubes based on the nonlocal Timoshenko beam theory [39,47]. Wang et al. [48] developed
nonlocal elastic beam and shell models to investigate the smallscale effect on buckling analysis of CNTs under compression. They
derived a general buckling solution for CNTs with a length of L and
any boundary via nonlocal beam model as

P
1

Pl 1 e0 a2 bp
2
L

2
where P l EI bLp is the buckling solution for a beam structure via
the local elastic beam theory and EI is the bending rigidity. b has different values given CNTs different boundary conditions. For example,
the buckling solutions for the first three modes are: b = 1, 2, 3 for a
pinnedpinned CNT, b 12 ; 32 ; 52 for a cantilevered CNT, and b = 2, 4,
6 for a fixedfixed CNT. From Eq. (3), it is obvious that the scale effect
is indispensable in providing more accurate results for mechanical
behaviors of CNTs with lengths of the order nm via continuum
mechanics. On the other hand, the small-scale effect is negligible
for CNTs with lengths of the order lm. The explicit solutions for CNTs
buckling analysis via nonlocal continuum mechanics provided
benchmark for scale effect studies of CNTs mechanical analyses.
The nonlocal Timoshenko beam model was implemented [49] to
investigate an axial buckling of single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs)
embedded in an elastic medium, and the influence of the small-scale
effect and stiffness of the surrounding medium was investigated.
Zhang et al. [50] presented an assessment of nonlocal beam and shell
models in the prediction of critical buckling strains of axially loaded
SWCNTs by use of MD simulation results for SWCNTs.
A nonlocal multiple-shell model was developed for the elastic
buckling of MWCNTs under uniform external radial pressure on
the basis of the nonlocal elasticity [51,52]. Zhang et al. [53] employed the hybrid nonlocal beam model to investigate the bending,
buckling and vibration responses of CNTs. The radial and bending

305

buckling behaviors of MTs were also studied based on the nonlocal

elasticity theory [54,55]. Since there are insufficient results by MD
simulations or experiments for radial and bending buckling, the
use of the small-scale parameter calibrated for vibration and axial
buckling to radial and bending buckling analysis was recommended.
Such a recommendation was not justified. It is pointed out here that
the parameter calibrated in vibration or axial buckling analysis may
not be applicable to another type of motion of CNTs. It is hence recommended that a nonlocal model is confirmed to be applicable to a
nano-material for a type of motion only after the scale parameter is
carefully calibrated for the material with the type of motion.
A nonlocal elastic shell model was developed to study the thermal buckling behavior of MWCNTs [56]. Buckling governing equations of CNTs were formulated on the basis of the nonlocal elastic
theory and the small-scale effect on CNTs buckling results under
the temperature field was investigated [57,58]. Wang et al. [59]
studied the thermal buckling properties of CNTs based on the nonlocal continuum theory and the Timoshenko beam model. They
concluded that small-scale effects should be considered for thermal buckling behaviors, especially for higher mode numbers and
short CNTs.
Torsional buckling of CNTs based on nonlocal elasticity shell
models was studied in Refs. [6063]. A nonlocal multiple-shell
model for MWCNTs surrounded by elastic medium under torsional
and thermal loads was established and it was observed that the
critical shear force in each layer decreases and the nonlocal effect
on the critical shear force becomes weaker as the innermost radius
and the layer number increase [61]. The scale coefficient, e0, was
estimated by matching the buckling torque of CNTs observed from
MD simulation results with the numerical results obtained from
the nonlocal shear deformable shell model [62]. Khademolhosseini
et al. [63] performed torsional buckling of SWCNTs using MD simulations and nonlocal shell models. To match the results obtained
from nonlocal continuum models to those of MD simulations, different values of effective thickness of CNTs were manually enforced in
local and nonlocal continuum models. Enforcing different values of
the effective thickness in continuum models to match the atomistic
results may not be a feasible way as the physical properties of materials should not be manually set to justify any proposed models.
The buckling analysis of single-layered GSs (SLGSs) under biaxial
and uniaxial compression was studied using the nonlocal continuum mechanics [6468]. GSs have been acknowledged to be a
membrane structure among researches in nano-community. In
structural mechanics, a membrane is a structure with negligible
bending rigidity [109,110]. Because of this, a membrane structure
is unable to be subjected to any notable compression loading and
bending, or the capacity of buckling load of such a structure is
almost zero. However, it is pointed out here that GSs can be subjected to in-plane shear leading to another type of local buckling
state, wrinkles [111]. Wrinkles are observed in GSs due to their relatively small bending rigidity. A continuum model was developed
for the characteristics of the wrinkles which show that the wrinkle
wavelength decreases with an increase in shear loading, while the
amplitude of the wrinkles is found to initially increase and then
become stable [111]. So far, there have been few studies on ripples
[112] GSs and failure of GSs and graphene nanoribbons (GNRs)
under tensile loadings using the nonlocal continuum theory.
Therefore, future studies are required to evaluate nonlocal models
in simulation of ripples in GSs and failure of GSs and GNRs under
tensile loadings.

3. Application in dynamic analysis of CNTs and GSs

Now we turn our attention to applications of nonlocal models in
vibration and wave propagation of CNTs and GSs. The vibration of

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B. Arash, Q. Wang / Computational Materials Science 51 (2012) 303313

nanotubes and graphenes is an important subject in the study of

nanotechnology since it relates to the electronic and optical properties of nanostructures [68]. Furthermore, growing interests in
terahertz physics of nano-scale materials and devices [1113] have
drawn more attention to CNTs and GSs phonon dispersion relation,
especially in the terahertz frequency range. Therefore, the study of
vibration of and wave propagation in CNTs and GSs has technological significance in gaining a more in-depth understanding of dynamic behaviors of CNTs and GSs. The factors that influence
dynamic behaviors of CNTs and GSs such as geometry of CNTs (radius, length, and number of tubes), geometry of GSs (width, length,
and number of layers), surrounding medium, temperature and
boundary conditions are investigated.
3.1. Free vibration of CNTs
Zhang et al. [69] developed a nonlocal double-elastic beam
model for free transverse vibrations of double-walled CNTs
(DWCNTs) and studied the small-scale effect on vibrational properties of CNTs. An investigation on the vibration of SWCNTs and
DWCNTs based on nonlocal beam theories was undertaken by
Wang and Varadan [70]. They explicitly derived small-scale effects
on vibration characteristics of CNTs through a complete mechanics
analysis and showed that the results based on nonlocal continuum
mechanics are in agreement with a published experimental report.
They derived resonant frequency for mode n, xn, of a SWNT with a
length of L and simply supported boundary condition as follows

xn
1
q
x0n
n2 p2
1
e0 a2
2

q
2 2
EI
where x0n n Lp2
qA is the resonant frequency of the CNT obtained
on the basis of the classical or local EulerBernoulli beam theory; EI
is the bending rigidity; q is the mass density; and A is the cross sectional area of the CNT. Fig. 2 shows the small-scale effect on the fundamental natural frequency of SWNTs with lengths of L = 10, 15,
20 nm [70]. As shown in Fig. 2, the small-scale effects decrease by
an increase in the length of a CNT. The governing equations were
solved analytically for the vibration frequencies of beams with various end conditions [71]. The axial vibration frequencies were
shown to be highly over estimated by the local rod model, which
ignores the effect of small length scale [7274]. A nonlocal Timoshenko beam model was reformulated to study nonlinear free
vibration of SWCNTs based on von Karman geometric nonlinearity
and Eringens nonlocal elasticity theory [75].
Duan et al. [76] calibrated the scale coefficient of the nonlocal
Timoshenko beam theory for a free vibration of SWCNTs by using

Fig. 2. Effect of the small length scale on the frequency at the first mode in a SWNT
[70].

vibration frequencies generated from MD simulations at room

temperature. They showed that the calibrated e0 ranges between
0 and 4 for a (5, 5) SWCNT with clampedclamped boundary condition versus length-to-diameter ratio from 1 to 14. It is worth
mentioning that adopting various e0 at every distinct lengthto-diameter ratio may be inconvenient in applying the nonlocal
model. In view of this problem, Arash and Ansari [77] assessed a
nonlocal shell model to analyze vibration characteristics of
SWCNTs with different boundary conditions subjected to initial
strain. They calibrated the small-scale parameter for a wide range
of length-to-diameter ratios from 5 to 35 by use of MD simulations
as a benchmark of good accuracy and showed that the small-scale
parameter, e0a, only depends on boundary condition. The smallscale parameter, e0a, was respectively justified to range from
1.7 nm to 2 nm for clampedclamped and clamped-free SWCNTs
(see Fig. 3). The use of a unique small-scale parameter, e0a, for a
wide range of length-to-diameter ratio is more practical.
Li and Kardomateas [78] formulated a nonlocal shell model for
free vibrations of MWCNTs. They found that resonant frequencies
decrease due to the van der Waals (vdW) interaction between
two adjacent nanotubes. The effectiveness of local and nonlocal
Timoshenko beam models in the vibration analysis of SWCNTs
with different boundary conditions was assessed by Zhang et al.
[79]. The scale coefficient, e0, was derived to be 1.25 for a range
of length-to-diameter ratio from around 5 to around 35. Murmu
and Pradhan [80] analyzed a thermal vibration analysis of SWCNT
based on the nonlocal elasticity theory. Lee and Chang [81] developed a nonlocal EulerBernoulli elastic beam model for the vibration of nanotubes conveying fluid using the theory of nonlocal
elasticity. They observed that the nonlocal effect on the fundamental frequency becomes significant as the flow velocity of viscous
fluid decreases. In addition, the viscosity effect on the frequency
of SWCNT becomes significant as the flow velocity of viscous fluid
increases. Wang [82] obtained the resonant frequencies and critical
flow velocities of tubular nano- and micro-beams conveying fluid
using nonlocal elastic theory. Results showed that the small-scale
effect on the critical flow velocities is visible for fluid-conveying
nanotubes with nano-scale length; however, and this effect may
be neglected for micro-scale length. Pradhan and Murmu [83]
developed a single nonlocal beam model to investigate the flapwise bendingvibration characteristics of a rotating nanocantilever. Dynamic analysis of nanotube structures under excitation of
a moving nanoparticle was carried out using nonlocal continuum

Fig. 3. Fundamental resonant frequencies from continuum shell model and MD

simulations for clamped (CC) and cantilever (CF) (5, 5) SWCNTs of thickness
h = 0.34 nm[77].

B. Arash, Q. Wang / Computational Materials Science 51 (2012) 303313

theory [84,85]. Based on the nonlocal elasticity theory, elastic

beam models were developed for analysis of dynamical behavior
of fluid conveying SWCNTs embedded in an elastic medium
[86,87]. Vibration analysis of a simply-supported SWCNT subjected
to a moving harmonic load was investigated by using the nonlocal
EulerBernoulli beam theory [88]. The potential of SWCNTs as
mass sensors via a vibration analysis was investigated using nonlocal elasticity theory [89,90]. Frequency shifts of the nanotubes
caused by attached mass were examined to measure the sensitivity
of the sensors. It is suggested again that the verification of results
obtained by nonlocal continuum models and calibration of the
small-scale parameter are indispensable for applicability and justification of the models.
3.2. Wave propagation in CNTs
Wang [40] first investigated wave propagation in CNTs with nonlocal elastic EulerBernoulli and Timoshenko beam models. The
work revealed the significance of the small-scale effect and the limitation of the applicability and feasibility of local continuum models
in analysis of CNTs. It was also found that the experimental results
are qualitatively in agreement with the simulations derived from
nonlocal continuum models. Further, it was suggested that a conservative evaluation on the small-scale parameter can be obtained as
e0a < 2.1 nm for wave propagation of a SWCNT. Wang and Hu [91]
studied on the flexural wave propagation in armchair (5, 5) and
(10, 10) SWCNTs for a wide range of wave numbers by use of the
nonlocal beam models and the MD simulations. Their simulation results showed that the nonlocal Timoshenko beam model provides a
better prediction for the dispersion of flexural waves in the two
SWCNTs than the nonlocal Euler beam as shown in Fig. 4. They proposed the scale coefficient e0 = 0.288 for a wide range of wave length
from 0.2 nm to 70 nm for the flexural wave propagation in a
SWCNT through the comparison results of nonlocal Timoshenko
beam model and MD simulations. Such a speculation of a unique

307

coefficient may not be practical as pointed out by later studies from

other scholars. The nonlocal EulerBernoulli and Timoshenko beam
models were proposed by Wang et al. [92] to study the small-scale
effect on wave dispersion results for DWNTs with respect to the variation of DWNTs wavenumbers and diameters. Wang and Varadan
[93] showed that the nonlocal shell theory is indispensable in predicting CNT phonon dispersion relations at larger longitudinal and
circumferential wavenumbers and smaller wavelength in the circumferential direction. Hu et al. [36] modeled SWCNTs and DWCNTs
as nonlocal single and double elastic cylindrical shells. It was indicated that the wave dispersion predicted by the nonlocal elastic
cylindrical shell theory is in good agreement with that of the MD
simulations in a wide frequency range up to the terahertz region.
They also reported that nonlocal shell models are required when
the wavelengths are approximately less than 2.36 and 0.95 nm for
transverse wave in armchair (15, 15) SWCNT and torsional wave
in armchair (10, 10) SWCNT, respectively. The MD-based estimation
of the scale coefficient e0 for the nonlocal elastic cylindrical shell
model was suggested to be 0.6 and 0.2 for transverse wave and torsional wave in CNTs, respectively. The small-scale parameter introduces certain band gap region in both flexural and shear wave mode
where no wave propagation occurs when the wavenumber tends to
infinite [94]. The frequency at which this phenomenon occurs is
called the Escape frequency and it is proportional to the nonlocal
scaling parameter. Based on the BernoulliEuler and Timoshenko
beam theories, a single-elastic beam model using nonlocal elasticity
was developed for the wave propagation in CNTs with different
boundary conditions [95]. Waves propagating in CNTs subjected to
initial axial stress and fluid- conveying was studied in Refs. [96,97].
3.3. Free vibration of GSs
Pradhan and Phadikar [98] reformulated the classical plate theory (CLPT) and the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) by
using the nonlocal constitutive relations of Eringen to study free

Fig. 4. The dispersion relation of the armchair (5, 5) carbon nanotube (local EulerBernoulli beam model (E), nonlocal EulerBernoulli beam model (NE), local Timoshenko
beam model (T), nonlocal Timoshenko beam model (NT) and MD simulation (MD)). (a) The phase velocity of flexural wave versus wave number. (b) The zoom of (a); (c) The
phase velocity of flexural wave versus wave length. (d) The zoom of (c) [91].

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B. Arash, Q. Wang / Computational Materials Science 51 (2012) 303313

vibrations of GSs. The difference in the frequencies predicted by

CLPT and FSDT is significantly smaller for double layered plate than
that for single layered plate [97]. Murmu and Pradhan [99] studied
small-scale effect on the free in-plane vibration of nano-plates by a
nonlocal continuum model. A vibration analysis of orthotropic GSs
was also conducted [100,101]. A nonlocal plate model based on
FSDT was developed to study free vibrations of embedded multilayered GSs (MLGSs) [102,103]. A nonlocal plate model for the
nonlinear vibration of SLGSs with simply supported boundary
conditions in thermal environments was presented and the
small-scale parameter was estimated by matching the natural
frequencies of SLGSs observed from the MD simulation results with
those of the nonlocal plate model [104]. There has been no evidence on necessity of using third order shear deformation theory
to model GSs. Ansari et al. [105] evaluated a nonlocal plate model
to predict the resonant frequency of SLGSs. They calibrated the
small-scale parameter (e0a) for the free vibration of squared
shaped SLGSs with simply-supported and clamped boundary conditions for a wide range of sizes from 10 nm to 50 nm by use of MD
simulation results as a benchmark. Their simulation results
showed that the values of e0a are 1.41 nm and 0.87 nm for
simply-supported and clamped SLGSs. Arash and Wang [106]
investigated free vibrations of single-layered graphene sheets
(SLGSs) and double-layered GSs (DLGSs) with different boundary
conditions by employing the nonlocal continuum theory and MD
simulations. The vibrations of DLGS with different combinations
of boundary conditions between two layers were studied. The
dependence of boundary conditions and vibrational mode on calibration of the scale coefficient for a range of sizes of GSs was also
investigated. They showed that the classical elastic model overestimated the resonant frequencies of the sheets by a percentage as
high as 62% at sizes of 2.47 nm. The nonlocal plate model is found
to be indispensable in vibration analysis of GSs with a length less
than 8 nm on their sides [106] as shown in Fig. 5. Their results
showed that the difference between local plate model and nonlocal
counterpart remains significant for all ranges of GS aspect ratios,
and the overestimation is found to be around 50% at GS aspect ratio
of a/b = 4.
3.4. Wave propagation in GSs
Wave propagation in GS was studied in Refs. [107,108]. It was
shown that the scale coefficient introduces certain band gap region
in in-plane and flexural wave modes where no wave propagation

occurs [108]. This is manifested as the region where the wavenumber tends to infinite or wave speed tends to zero. In sum, more
studies are required on wave propagation in graphenes, especially
on calibration of the scale coefficient by use of atomistic simulation
or experimental results.
4. A re-visit on nonlocal elastic models
Nonlocal continuum mechanics models have been found to successfully describe mechanical behaviors of nano-materials. The results obtained by the nonlocal continuum models have been
compared with those from MD simulations [76,77,36,105,106]. Inspired by the pioneering works, many continuum models, including beam models, cylindrical shell models, and plate models
based on the nonlocal continuum theory, have been developed
and applied in studying static and dynamic analysis of CNTs and
GSs. In the following section, we provide a general introduction
of the elastic beam, shell, and plate models for analysis of CNTs
and GSs.
4.1. General theory
According to the nonlocal theory by Eringen [43,44], the stress
at a reference point x in an elastic continuum not only depends
on the strain at the point but also on strains at every point of the
body. The basic equations for linear homogenous and isotropic
elastic solids neglecting the body forces are

ri;j;j 0
rij x
ei;j

kjx x0 j; aC ijkl 2kl x0 dVx0 ;

1
ui;j uj;i
2

8x 2 V

where rij and ei,j are the stress and strain tensors, respectively; Cijkl
is the elastic modulus tensor in classical isotropic elasticity; and ui
is the displacement vector. Eq. (1) shows that stress (r) at a refer0
ence point depends on local strain at the source x induced by deformation within a finite volume, V, surrounding the material point, by
means of a nonlocal kernel kjx x0 j; a that weights the classical
strains around point x. k is the nonlocal modulus or attenuation
function which is a function of the distance in Euclidean form,
0
|x x |, and a material constant a. Material constant a defined as
e0a/l depends on the internal characteristics lengths, a (lattice
parameter, granular size, distance between CC bonds), external
characteristics lengths l (crack length, wave length) and e0 is a constant appropriate to each material. The parameter e0a is the smallscale parameter revealing the small-scale effect on the responses of
structures of nano-size. Generally, a conservative estimate of the
small-scale parameter is e0a < 2.0 nm for a SWCNT [40] for wave
propagation. Note that this value is both chirality and size dependent, as the material properties of CNTs are widely acknowledged
to be chirality dependent. So far, there is no rigorous study made
on estimating the scale coefficient. It is suggested that the coefficient be determined by conducting a comparison of dispersion
curves from nonlocal continuum mechanics and lattice dynamics
of nano-material crystal structure [43,44].
The kernel function kjx x0 j; a is given by Eringen as
2

kjxj; a 2pl a2 1 K 0

p
x
x
la

where k0 is the modified Bessel function. By combination of Eqs. (5)

and (6) the constitutive relation may be obtained as
Fig. 5. Dependence of the small-scale parameter on the fundamental resonant
frequency of square single-layered graphene sheets with CCCC boundary conditions
[106].

1 e0 a2 r2 r C : e
2

where r is the Laplacian operator.

B. Arash, Q. Wang / Computational Materials Science 51 (2012) 303313

4.2. Elastic beam model

It is well known that CNTs are slender tube like hollow structures with high aspect ratios. A slender CNT behaves like an elastic
beam during motions, in which the central axis of the beam deforms sideways and the deformation pattern can thus be described
as a single deflection. The simplest beam theory is the Euler
Bernoulli beam theory (EBT) [38,45,70,92,114116], in which
Hooks law for one-dimensional stress state can be determined by

rx e0 a2

@ 2 rx
Eex
@x2

yr dA

9a

@2w
@x2

9b

e y

where y is the coordinate measured from the mid-plane in the

height direction of the beam and w(x, t) is the flexural deflection
of the beam. The equilibrium equations of a vibrating beam structure subjected to an axial loading, P, and transverse loading, q,
can be easily provided below:

@V
@2w
qA 2 qx 0
@x
@s

10a

@M
@W
P
0
@x
@x

10b

Two nonlocal Timoshenko beam models have been presented in

literature. In both models, small scale effect was well modeled in
constitutive relation of normal stress and strain as shown in Eq.
(8). The only difference is on the necessity of including the scale effect in shear force and strain relation. When the small-scale effect
is considered in shear force term [114], the equilibrium equation in
terms of displacement, w and rotation, /, is given as

K s AG

where E is the Youngs modulus of the material. The resultant bending moment and the kinematics relation in a beam structure are
given as:

where V(x, t) and M(x, t) are the resultant shear force and bending
moment on the beam; q is the mass density of the material, and
A is the cross sectional area of the beam. Substituting Eq. (10b) into
(10a) leads to the nonlocal EulerBernoulli beam model,

!
!
2
2
@4w
@2
@2
2@ w
2@ w
qA 2 W e0 a
EI 4 P 2 W e0 a
@x
@x2
@x2
@x
@t
!
2
@ qx
0
11
qx e0 a2
@x2

309

!


@
@w
@4w
@4w
@ 2 qx
e0 a2 P 4 qA 2 2
/
@x
@x
@x
@x2
@x @t
P

EI

@2w
@2w
qA 2 qx 0
@x2
@t



@2/
@w
@2/
@4/
2

K
AG
/

q
I

e
a
q
I
0
s
0
2
@x2
@x
@t
@x2 @t2

13a
13b

Different from the model, Wang and Wang [113] suggested a nonlocal Timoshenko model in which the small-scale effect is not exerted on the shear force term. The reasoning is provided
hereinafter. In the Timoshenko theory, c0 @w
/ is defined as
@x
the shear strain at the centroidal axis, and the relation of the shear

force and the shear strain is directly defined as V K s AG @w
/ ,
@x
where ks is the shear correction factor, G is the shear modulus
and A is the cross sectional area. Therefore, the relation of the shear
force and shear strain suggested in the Timoshenko beam theory is
applied to the entire straight cross section, and not to a single point
on the section. The assumed relation makes the local Timoshenko
beam somewhat different from the local EulerBernoulli beam theory in which the shear stress at a certain point is related to the
strain at the point. Hence, the shear stress at a cross section in
the Timoshenko theory has already been considered to be a function
of the strain of the cross section as a whole, the nature of a nonlocal
variable. In view of this, in the nonlocal Timoshenko model, the consideration of the scale effect on the shear force may not be
necessary.
In Fig. 6, we compare the fundamental resonant frequency of
SWCNTs obtained from the two nonlocal Timoshenko beam models to show that modeling of scale effect in shear force is not a
key consideration in the beam models. The scale effect is only
indispensible in normal stress and strain relation, as shown in
Eq. (8). The variation of resonant frequency of a SWCNT with
length (L) ranging from 5 nm to 50 nm, diameter (d) 1 nm and

from which it is easily seen that the local or classical EulerBernoulli beam model is recovered when the parameter e0 is identically
zero.
Modeling of applications of CNTs can be extended from the
above fundamental modeling. For example, the analysis of the
vibration and stability of a SWCNT conveying fluid can be theoretically studied with a model provided below:

!
!
2
2
@4w
@2
2@ w
2 @ qx
qx e0 a
EI 4 P 2 w e0 a
@x
@x2
@x2
@x
!


2
2
@
@ w
@
qA 2 w e0 a2 2 mf 1 e0 a2 2
@x
@x
@t
!
@2w
@2w @2w
 2v f
2 0
v 2f
@x@t
@x2
@t

12

where mf the mass of fluid per unit length in the carbon nanotube.
The Euler beam model is adequate for the static and dynamic
analysis of CNTs of high aspect ratios. However, it is well known
that the model neglects the transverse shear deformation. The nonlocal Timoshenko beam model was developed in analysis of static
and analysis of CNTs by considering the effects of transverse shear
deformation and rotary inertia [45,49,71,92,113,114].

Fig. 6. Influence of the small-scale effect in shear constitutive relation on resonant

frequency of a SWCNT with length ranging 5 nm and 50 nm, diameter 1 nm and
2 nm, simply-supported boundary condition and e0a = 2 nm modeled by two
nonlocal Timoshenko beam models.

310

B. Arash, Q. Wang / Computational Materials Science 51 (2012) 303313

2 nm and simply-supported boundary condition modeled by the

two nonlocal Timoshenko beam models is presented in Fig. 6.
The mechanical parameters are set as follows: the Youngs modulus E = 1 TPa, the Poissons ratio v = 0.19, the mass density
q = 2.3 g/cm3, the effective thickness t = 0.34 nm, the small-scale
parameter e0a = 2 nm and the shear correction factor Ks = 10/9.
The difference percentage of fundamental resonant frequency obtained by the two nonlocal Timoshenko models for a SWCNT with
a diameter of 2 nm decreases from 8% at the length of 5 nm (L/
d = 2.5) to only 2.5% at the length of 10 nm (L/d = 5). As it is shown,
the modeling of the small-scale effect in shear relation on resonant
frequency is not necessary. In addition, not any study in literature
has shown that higher order beam models are necessary to analysis static and dynamic behavior of CNTs although high order models have been proposed [114].
4.3. Elastic shell model
In addition to nonlocal beam models, CNTs with lower lengthto-diameter ratios have been models with elastic shell models for
their shell-like motions in which these CNTs move sideways while
maintaining their straight axes. Hence, nonlocal shell models become indispensable especially when the length-to-radius ratio of
CNTs decreases.
Two shell theories, i.e. the classical shell theory [36,56,93] and
FSDT [77], have been widely considered in literature for static
and dynamic analysis of nanotubes.
In the classical shell theory, the three-dimensional displacement components ux, uy and uz in the x, h and z directions respectively are assumed to be

@w
x; h; t
@x
@w
x; h; t
uy x; h; z; t v x; h; t z
@h
uz x; h; z; t wx; h; t

14

!
1 @ u @w
2
@2u
@2u

N
q
h

xh
R @h2 @x
R
@x@h
@t 2
2

1 @Nhh @Nxh 1 @Mhh 1 @M hh

@2v 1
@w @ 2 v

Nxx 2 Nhh
R @h
R @x
R
@h @h2
@x
@x
R @h
!
2
@w @ 2 v
@2v
N xh
qh 2

R
@x @x@h
@t

@2w
@t 2

where lij (i, j = 1, 2, 3) are partial operators given as

Eh @ 2
1 @2
Gh 2 2 ;
2
2
1 t @x
R @h
1 tEh @

R 1 t2 @x

l11
l13

tEh
1 @2
Gh
;
2
1t
R @x@h




D @2
Eh
D 1 @2

;
2 @x2
1 t2 R2 R2 @h2
R


D @
1 Eh @
mD 21 v D @ 3

4 3 2

2
@x2 @h
R @h
R 1 t @h
R2
R2

l21 l12 ;
l23

l12

l22

Gh

1 v
2



2mD 21 v D
@4
l33

2
2
@x2 @h2
R
R
4
4
@
D @
1 Eh
D 4 4 4 2
@x
R @h
R 1 t2
l32 l23 ;

17

ux x; h; z; t ux; h; t zwx x; h; t
uy x; h; z; t v x; h; t zwh x; h; t
uz x; h; z; t wx; h; z; t

18

whereu, v, w are the reference surface displacements and wx ; wh are

the rotations of transverse normal about the x-axis and y-axis,
respectively. The governing equations of a shell subjected to an axial force, Nxx , torsional force, N xh , and external pressure, N hh , on the
basis of the Donnell shell theory are given as [77]

@Nxx 1 @Nxh
x
I1 w

I0 u
R @h
@x
@Nxh 1 @Nhh Q hh
h

I0 v I1 w
R @h
@x
R
@Q xx 1 @Q hh Nhh
@2w 1
@2w
1
@2w

Nxx 2 Nxh
2 Nhh 2 I0 w
@x
R
R @h
@x
R
@x@h R
@h

@ 2 Mxx 1 @ 2 M hh 2 @ 2 M xh Nhh
@2w
2

Nxx 2
2
2
R @x@h
@x
@x
R
R @h
!
!
@u 1 @ v 1 @ 2 w
2
@2w @v

N hh

Nxh
@x R @h R @h2
R
@x@h @x
qh

l31 u l32 v l33 w 1 e0 a2 r2

"
!
@2w
@u 1 @ v 1 @ 2 w
Nxx
qhw

hh
@x2
@x R @h R @h2
!#
2
@2w @v
16
Nxh

R
@x@h @x

In the FSDT, the three-dimensional displacement components ux, uy

and uz in the x, h and z directions respectively are assumed to be

where u, v, w are the reference surface displacements. For a CNTs

with a radius R, length L and thickness h, the governing equations
of a nanotube subjected to axial load, N xx , torsional force, Nxh , and
external pressure, N hh , on the basis of Flugges shell theory are given
as [36,93]

@Nxx 1 @Nhx
@ u

Nxx 2 Nhh
@x
R @h
@x



l21 u l22 v l23 w 1 e0 a2 r2
"
!#
!
@2v 1
@w @ 2 v
2
@w @ 2 v
2 Nxh

 qhv Nxx 2 Nhh

R
@h @h
R
@x @x@h
@x

l31 l13 ;

ux x; h; z; t ux; h; t z

l11 u l12 v l13 w 1 e0 a2 r2

"
!
#
@2u
1 @ 2 u @w
2
@2u
Nxx

 qhu
hh
xh
@x2
R @h2 @x
R
@x@h

@Mxx 1 @M xh
x
I2 w

Q xx I1 u
R @h
@x
15

where Nxx, Nhh, Nxh; Mxx, Mhh, and Mxh are the components of internal
force and the internal moments into which the small-scale effect
has been incorporated [93], x and h denote the longitudinal and circumferential coordinates respectively. The nonlocal elastic shell
model is hence provided as follows:

@Mxh 1 @M hh
h

Q hh I1 v I2 w
R @h
@x

19

where Nxx ; Nhh ; N xh ; Q xx ; Q hh ; Mxx ; Mhh ; Mxh are the components of

internal force and the internal moments into which the small-scale
R h=2
effect has been incorporated [77]. Ii h=2 qzi dz i 0; 1; 2 is the
mass moment of inertia. The nonlocal first order shell model is thus
provided as:

311

B. Arash, Q. Wang / Computational Materials Science 51 (2012) 303313

x
I1 w
l11 u l12 v l13 w l14 wx l15 wh 1 e0 a2 r2 I0 u
2

"

Dr4 w 1 e0 a2 r2 I0

h
l21 u l22 v l23 w l24 wx l25 wh 1 e0 a r I0 v I1 w

ux x; y; z; t ux; y; t zwx x; y; t

uy x; y; z; t v x; y; t zwy x; y; t

where u; v and w are the reference surface displacements. The governing Mindlin-type equations are given as

20

where lij (i, j = 1,2, . . . , 5) are partial operators given as

l11

l13

1 v Eh @
;
R 1 v 2 @x

l12

l14 l15 0;

v Eh Gh

1 v2
2

@Q xx @Q yy

p I0 w
@x
@y
@Mxx @Mxy
x
I2 w

Q x I1 u
@x
@y

l22
l23

l33 Gh

l32 l23 ;
l35
l44
l45

Gh @
;
R @h

@2
1 @2
1 Eh
Gh 2 2 2
;
2
@x
R @h
R 1 v2

l41 l42 0;

l54 l45 ;

l55

l31 l13 ;
l34 Gh

@
;
@x

l43 l34 ;

@2
1 1 v D 1 @ 2
D 2
Gh;
2
2
@x
R2 @h2


1 1 v D 1 @ 2
vD
; l51 0;
2
2
R @x@h

l52 l25 ;

l53 l35 ;
21

26

where Nxx, Nyy, Nxy; Qxx, Qyy; Mxx, Myy, Mxy; I0, I1, I2 are the components of internal force, the internal moments into which the
small-scale effect has been incorporated and mass moments of inertia [98,101,105]. The nonlocal Mindlin plate theory is hence given as,

y
l21 u l22 v l23 w l24 wx l25 wh 1 e0 a2 r2 I0 v I1 w

l31 u l32 v l33 w l34 wx l35 wh 1 e0 a2 r2 I0 w

x
I2 w
l41 u l42 v l43 w l44 wx l45 wh 1 e0 a2 r2 I1 u
y
l51 u l52 v l53 w l54 wx l55 wh 1 e0 a2 r2 I1 v I2 w

4.4. Elastic plate model

GSs have been modeled by nonlocal continuum theories as twodimensional nano-plates [98106]. In continuum plate models, the
classical plate theory (CLPT) [98,99,106] and FSDT (or Mindlin
plate theory) [98,101,105] have been incorporated in modeling
the nano-plates.
In CLPT, transverse shear strains are neglected. Based on the
CLPT, the three-dimensional displacement components ux, uy and
uz in the x, y and z directions respectively are assumed to be

ux x; y; z; t ux; y; t z

22

where u, v and w are the reference surface displacements. The dynamic equilibrium equations of the stress and moment resultants
are given as [98,101,105]

@ 2 Mxx
@ 2 M xy @ 2 Myy
@2w
@4w
2
I0 2 I 2 2 2

2
2
@x
@x@y
@y
@t
@x @t

@Mxy @Myy
y

Q y I1 v I2 w
@x
@y

x
I1 w
l11 u l12 v l13 w l14 wx l15 wh 1 e0 a2 r2 I0 u

1 1 v D @ 2
1 @2
D 2 2 Gh
2
2
2
@x
R @h

@w
x; y; t
@x
@w
uy x; y; z; t v x; y; t z
x; y; t
@y
uz x; y; z; t wx; y; t

@Nxx @Nxy
x
I1 w

I0 u
@x
@y
@Nxy @Nyy
y

I0 v I1 w
@x
@y

1 @2
;
R @x@h

l21 l12 ;

 2
Gh @ 2
Eh 1 @ 2
1

Gh
;
2
2
2
2
2 @x
1 v R @h
R


Eh
1 @
Gh

Gh 2
; l24 0; l25
;
1 v2
R
R @h

25

uz x; y; z; t wx; y; t

x
I2 w
l41 u l42 v l43 w l44 wx l45 wh 1 e0 a2 r2 I1 u

Eh @ 2
Gh 1 @ 2

;
1 v 2 @x2
2 R2 @h2

24

In FSDT, the three-dimensional displacement components ux, uy

and uz in the x, y and z directions respectively are assumed to be

l31 u l32 v l33 w l34 wx l35 wh 1 e0 a2 r2

"
#
@2w 1
@2w
1
@2w

 I0 w Nxx 2 Nxh
Nhh 2
@x
R
@x@h R2
@h

h
l51 u l52 v l53 w l54 wx l55 wh 1 e0 a2 r2 I1 v I2 w

@2w
@4w
@4w

2
@t2
@x2 @t2 @y2 @t 2

!#

23

where q is the mass density. The nonlocal plate model of a singlelayered graphene sheet in terms of the displacements is given below when the rotary inertia is considered:

27

where lij (i, j = 1, 2, . . . , 5) are partial operators given as

l11

Eh @ 2
Gh @ 2

;
2
2
1 t @x
2 @y2

l12

l13 l14 l15 0

l21 l12 ;

l22

l34

1
@
K s Gh ;
2
@x

l41 l42 0;
l45

tD

Gh @ 2
Eh @ 2

;
2
2 @x
1 t2 @y2

l35

l23 l24 l25 0

1
@2
1
@2
K s Gh 2 K s Gh 2 ;
2
2
@x
@y
1
@
K s Gh
2
@y

l32 l23 ;

l31 l13 ;

tEh Gh @ 2

;
1 t2
2 @x@y

l43 l34 ;

l33

l44 D

@2
1 1 tD @ 2
1

K s Gh;
2
2
2
@x
@y2 2


1 1 tD @ 2
2
2
@x@y

l51 0;
l55

l52 l25 ; l53 l35 ; l54 l45 ;

 2 2
1 1 tD @ 2
1
@
1

D
K s Gh
2
@x
2
2
R @y2 2

28

312

B. Arash, Q. Wang / Computational Materials Science 51 (2012) 303313

It has been shown that resonant frequency of GSs obtained from

the nonlocal plate model based on CLPT and FSDT are in good
agreement with those of MD simulations [105,106]. Higher order
models for analyzing GSs have not been found to be necessary
for analysis of nano-plates so far.
5. Conclusions
Owing to their superior mechanical and physical properties,
CNTs and GSs hold many potential applications in the ever-growing nanotechnology industry. A very good understanding of
mechanical behaviors of the two materials is crucial. Among different approaches for modeling nanostructures, the nonlocal
continuum mechanics theory allows the consideration of the
small-scale effects in analysis of nano-materials. These advantages
make the nonlocal continuum modeling employed as an effective
way in simulating the nano-materials. The nonlocal beam and shell
models have been widely employed in analysis of the static and
dynamic problems of CNTs and GSs.
The key issue in a successful application of the nonlocal continuum mechanics models is to determine the magnitude of the
small-scale parameter. However, their validity has been rarely confirmed by MD simulation results or experimental tests. The value
of the small-scale parameter depends on boundary condition, chirality, mode shapes, number of walls, and the nature of motions.
More studies are needed to fully evaluate the nonlocal continuum
models to analyze behaviors of CNTs, especially MWCNTs embedded in an elastic medium with various boundary conditions,
dimension and chirality.
High order continuum models provide complicated equations is
not practical. Furthermore, there is not any evidence on necessity
of using high order continuum models for analysis of CNTs and
GSs. In sum, nonlocal EulerBernoulli and Timoshenko beam models for long CNTs and elastic shell models based on classical shell
theory and FSDT are sufficient to model static and dynamic behavior of short CNTs. Also, plate models based on CLPT and FSDT are
adequate to analyze GSs.
Further studies on the nonlocal elastic theory will focus on their
applications in modeling of new applications of CNTs and GSs. On
example would be the study on vibration characteristic of CNTs
and GSs for modeling them as potential mass sensors using the
nonlocal continuum theory. SWCNTs have been identified to be
able to transport encapsulated atoms and nano-particles via the
driving force induced by the vdW interaction between the CNT
wall and the filled atoms and nano-particles. Transportation of
nano-particles using nonlocal continuum models can be another
interesting research area.
Acknowledgement
This research was undertaken, in part, thanks to funding from
the Canada Research Chairs Program (CRC) and the National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).
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