Abstract
Nonlocal continuum mechanics allows one to account for the small length scale effect that becomes significant when dealing with micro- or nano-structures. This paper investigates a model of wave propagation in single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with small scale effects are studied. The equation of motion of the dilatation wave is obtained using the nonlocal elastic theory. We show that a dispersive wave equation is obtained from a nonlocal elastic constitutive law, based on a mixture of a local and a nonlocal strain. The SWCNTs structures are treated within the multilayer thin shell approximation with the elastic properties taken to be those of the graphene sheet. The SWCNT was the (40,0) zigzag tube with an effective diameter of 3.13 nm. Nonlinear frequency equations of wave propagation in SWCNTs are described through the effect of small scale. The phase velocity and the group velocity are derived, respectively. The nonlinear dispersion relation is analyzed with different wave numbers versus scale coefficient. It can be observed from the results that the dispersion properties of the dilatation wave are induced by the small scale effects, which will disappear in local continuous models. The dispersion degree can be strengthened by increasing the scale coefficient and the wave number. Furthermore, the characteristics for the group velocity of the dilatation wave in carbon nanotubes can also be tuned by these factors.