Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) may be used to create nanoscale compliant mechanisms that possess large ranges of motion relative to their device size. Many macroscale compliant mechanisms contain compliant elements that are subjected to fixed-clamped boundary conditions, indicating that they may be of value in nanoscale design. The combination of boundary conditions and large strains yield deformations at the tube ends and strain stiffening along the length of the tube, which are not observed in macroscale analogs. The large-deflection behavior of a fixed-clamped CNT is not well-predicted by macroscale large-deflection beam bending models or truss models. Herein, we show that a pseudo-rigid-body model may be adapted to capture the strain stiffening behavior and, thereby, predict a CNT’s fixed-clamped behavior with less than 3% error from molecular simulations. The resulting pseudo-rigid-body model may be used to set initial design parameters for CNT-based compliant mechanisms. This removes the need for iterative, time-intensive molecular simulations during initial design phases.
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August 2010
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A Pseudo-Rigid-Body Model for Large Deflections of Fixed-Clamped Carbon Nanotubes
Larry L. Howell,
Larry L. Howell
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Brigham Young University
, Provo, UT 84602
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Christopher M. DiBiasio,
Christopher M. DiBiasio
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Cambridge, MA 02139
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Michael A. Cullinan,
Michael A. Cullinan
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Cambridge, MA 02139
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Robert M. Panas,
Robert M. Panas
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Cambridge, MA 02139
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Martin L. Culpepper
Martin L. Culpepper
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Cambridge, MA 02139
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Larry L. Howell
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Brigham Young University
, Provo, UT 84602
Christopher M. DiBiasio
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Cambridge, MA 02139
Michael A. Cullinan
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Cambridge, MA 02139
Robert M. Panas
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Cambridge, MA 02139
Martin L. Culpepper
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Cambridge, MA 02139J. Mechanisms Robotics. Aug 2010, 2(3): 034501 (5 pages)
Published Online: July 14, 2010
Article history
Received:
August 12, 2008
Revised:
April 6, 2010
Online:
July 14, 2010
Published:
July 14, 2010
Citation
Howell, L. L., DiBiasio, C. M., Cullinan, M. A., Panas, R. M., and Culpepper, M. L. (July 14, 2010). "A Pseudo-Rigid-Body Model for Large Deflections of Fixed-Clamped Carbon Nanotubes." ASME. J. Mechanisms Robotics. August 2010; 2(3): 034501. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4001726
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