2009/07/30 by Pugno, Nicola Maria
#FOS: Physical sciences #Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) #Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.0907.5335
We have discovered that the influence of the surrounding nanotubes in a bundle is similar to that of a liquid having surface tension equal to the surface energy of the nanotubes. This surprising behaviour is confirmed by the calculation of the self-collapse diameters of nanotubes in a bundle. Other systems, such as peapods, fullerites, are similarly treated, including the effect of the presence of a solvent. Finally, we have evaluated the strength and toughness of the nanotube bundle, with or without collapsed nanotubes, assuming a sliding failure.