Coordinated Buckling of Thick Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Under Uniaxial Compression

Using a generalized quasi-continuum method,we characterize the post-buckling morphologies and energetics of thick multi-walled carbon nanotubes(MWCNTs)under uniaxial compression.Our simulations identify for the first time evolving post-buckling morphologies,ranging from asymmetric periodic rippling to a helical diamond pattern.We attribute the evolving morphologies to the coordinated buckling of the constituent shells.The post-buckling morphologies result in significantly reduced effective moduli that are strongly dependent on the aspect ratio.Our simulation results provide fundamental principles to guide the future design of high-performance,MWCNT-based nanodevices.