Surface effects on nonlocal critical buckling temperature of nanotubes

Abstract

Nanotechnology is an emerging technology involving the characterization, design, production, and application of materials, structures, and systems through the control of matter on the nanometer length scale, that is, at the level of atoms and molecules. Nanotubes are being investigated for use as latent materials for drug carriers. However, the surface effects cannot be ignored when drugs or other functional materials, such as nickel or silver, adhere to the surfaces of the nanotube. In this paper, the thermal buckling properties of nanotubes, while accounting for surface effects, are studied using the nonlocal Timoshenko beam model. The influence of the surface elasticity modulus, residual surface stress, nonlocal parameter, modenumber, and aspect ratio are investigated in detail. The results show that the critical buckling temperature is significantly affected by the surface material, nonlocal parameter, buckling mode, and aspect ratio. Plots illustrating such deviations are given to support the present work.