Abstract
This paper presents an investigation into the nonlinear dynamics of a carbon nanotube (CNT) actuated electrically by a DC force and an AC harmonic load. The CNT is described by an Euler Bernoulli beam model that accounts for the system nonlinearities due to mid-plane stretching and electrostatic forcing. A reduced-order model based on the Galerkin method is developed and utilized to simulate the static and dynamic response of the CNT. The static deflection of the CNT and its pull-in voltage are calculated and validated by comparing them to published results. It was found that midplane stretching has a major impact on the pull-in prediction of CNT. Dynamic analysis is conducted to explore the nonlinear oscillation of the CNT near its fundamental natural frequency (primary resonance) and near one half, twice, and three times its natural frequency (secondary resonances). The nonlinear analysis is carried out using a shooting technique combined with the Floquet theory to capture periodic orbits and analyze their stability. The results show that these resonances can lead to complex nonlinear dynamics phenomena such as hysteresis, dynamic pull-in, hardening and softening behaviors, and frequencies bands with an inevitable escape from a potential well.