Linear vibrations of multi-walled carbon nanotubes

In this paper, the linear vibrations of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWNTs) are analysed. A multiple elastic shell model is considered. The shell dynamics is studied in the framework of the Sanders-Koiter shell theory. The van der Waals (vdW) interaction between two layers of the MWNT is modelled by a radius-dependent function. The shell deformation is described in terms of longitudinal, circumferential and radial displacements. Simply supported, clamped and free boundary conditions are considered. The three displacement fields are expanded by means of a double mixed series based on Chebyshev orthogonal polynomials for the longitudinal variable and harmonic functions for the circumferential variable. The Rayleigh-Ritz method is applied to obtain approximate natural frequencies and mode shapes. The present model is validated in linear field by means of data derived from the literature. This study is focused on determining the effect of the geometry and boundary conditions on the natural frequencies of the MWNTs.