Due to their mechanical properties, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) hold promise as nanoreinforcements in a variety of composites. As a result, numerous theoretical and experimental studies have been performed in order to understand the behavior of CNTs under axial tension. Whereas quantum mechanical studies typically find failure strains in the range of 20-30% and failure stresses in excess of 100 GPa, the experimental measurements have reported much lower values. Now, researchers believe that this discrepancy occurs because of defects in the nanotubes used in experiments. In this assignment, we will calculate the failure stress and strain for a pristine (non-defected) carbon nanotube.

This laboratory uses the nanoHUB tool QC-Lab

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Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• Christine M Aikens, George C. Schatz, Marcelo Carignano (2021), "Carbon Nanotube Fracture," https://nanohub.org/resources/35093.

  BibTex | EndNote

1. carbon nanotubes
2. chemistry
3. education
4. engineering education
5. material properties
6. NCN Group - Chemistry
7. QC-Lab
8. quantum chemistry