A VARIATIONAL PRINCIPLE APPROACH FOR BUCKLING OF CARBON NANOTUBES BASED ON NONLOCAL TIMOSHENKO BEAM MODELS.

Based on the nonlocal elastic theory and variational principle, new Timoshenko beam models and analytical solutions for buckling of carbon nanotubes considering nanoscale size effect and shear deformation are established. New equilibrium equations and higher-order boundary conditions are derived and the buckling behavior of carbon nanotubes is numerically investigated. The numerical solutions confirm that nanotube stiffness is enhanced by nanoscale size effect and reduced by shear deformation. It is also concluded that nanotubes with different boundary conditions show varying sensitivity to changes in nanoscale and dimension. Comparison with molecular dynamics simulation results verifies the accuracy and reliability of this new analytical nonlocal Timoshenko beam model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]