A distinct element method for large scale simulations of carbon nanotube assemblies

Igor Ostanin, Roberto Ballarini, David Potyondy, Traian Dumitricǎ

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

62 Scopus citations

Abstract

Mesoscale simulation techniques are becoming increasingly important due to the interest in complex mechanical problems involving nanomaterials. We propose applying the established macroscopic modeling concept of distinct spherical elements down to the mesoscale to simulate mechanical behavior of carbon nanotube systems. Starting from a microscopic description, the important interactions are encapsulated into two types of contact models that act simultaneously. Each individual nanotube is coarse-grained into a chain of spherical elements interacting by parallel-bonded contacts, representing the short-ranged covalent bonding. An anisotropic van der Waals model with aligning moments acts at the contact between elements located in different tubes to represent the long-ranged interactions. The promising potential of the proposed methodology to model large scale carbon nanotube assemblies is illustrated with several examples, including self-folding of individual nanotubes, mechanical testing of nanotube ropes, self-assembly of a high-porosity nanotube paper, and mechanical testing of a low-porosity nanotube paper.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)762-782
Number of pages21
JournalJournal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids
Volume61
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2013

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We are grateful to Henryk Stolarski and Erik Hobbie for helpful comments. We thank Itasca Education Partnership Program, NSF CAREER under Grant no. CMMI-0747684 , and NSF under Grant no. CMMi 0800896 .

Keywords

  • Carbon nanotubes
  • Distinct element method
  • Van der Waals interactions

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