The elastic modulus of single-wall carbon nanotubes: a continuum analysis incorporating interatomic potentials
P. Zhang, Y. Huang, P. H. Geubelle, P. A. Klein and K. C. Hwang
International Journal of Solids and Structures, 39, 3893–3906 (2002).

ABSTRACT

A nanoscale continuum theory is established to directly incorporate interatomic potentials into a continuum analysis without any parameter fitting. The theory links interatomic potentials and atomic structure of a material to a constitutive model on the continuum level. The theory is applied to study the linear elastic modulus of a single-wall carbon nanotube. The Young's modulus predicted by this nanoscale continuum theory agrees well with prior experimental results and atomistic studies.