Based upon the continuum mechanics method, three-dimensional finite element models were used to study the effects of various defects upon the buckling behavior of armchair and zig-zag single-walled carbon nanotubes under axial compression. The variations of the buckling modes and the critical buckling strains with the diameter and the length-diameter ratio of single-walled carbon nanotubes were investigated. The diameters of single-walled carbon nanotubes Based upon the continuum mechanics method, three-dimensional finite element models were used to study the effects of various defects upon the buckling behavior of armchair and zig-zag single-walled carbon nanotubes under axial compression. The variations of the buckling modes and the critical buckling strains with the diameter and the length-diameter ratio of single-walled carbon nanotubes were investigated. The diameters of single-walled carbon nanotubes varied from about 0.2 to 2nm, and the length-diameter ratios varied from 3 to 30. Two types of atom vacancy defect were considered. The calculation results showed that the length and the diameter of single-walled carbon nanotubes were relatively significant factors affecting the buckling behavior of single-walled carbon nanotubes. There was an optimal diameter for which the single-walled carbon nanotubes could bear much higher axial compression load than could those with other diameters. The defects obviously affected the buckling behavior of single-walled carbon nanotubes when the length-diameter ratio of the nanotube was less than about 8 and the defects studied here could decrease the critical buckling strain by a proportion of 41.5%.

The Effects of Different Defects on Buckling Behavior of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes. L.Chen, Q.Zhao, Z.Gong: Advanced Materials Research, 2010, 97-101, 3749-52