VIBRATION ANALYSIS OF SINGLE WALLED- CARBON NANOTUBE (SWCNT) BASED MASS SENSOR

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have good mechanical properties and unique structural, electronic, thermal characteristics. Especially single-walled carbon noontides (SWCNTs) have attracted intense interest in recent years due to their suitability for a wide range of applications, such as field emission and vacuum microelectronic devices, and as nano-sensors and nano-actuators. In this study, the resonant frequency and mode shapes of a various dimensions of single — walled carbon nanotubes analytically and via continuum - mechanics based finite element method simulations using beam — bending model has been analyzed without any addition of mass at the end point of beam or at any other position along its length. Additionally, this study explores the resonant frequency shift of the single — walled carbon nanotubes caused by the addition of a nano — scale particle on the beam tip and at various intermediate positions in order to explore the suitability of the single — walled carbon nanotubes as a mass detector device for many sensing applications. The simulation results for the resonant frequency are compared to the numerical results obtained by the Rayleigh — Ritz method for the beams having without a nano — particle and with a nano — particle on the tip or at various intermediate positions along its length. It is shown that the finite element method simulation results are in good agreement with the numerical results, and the accuracy of the FEM simulated and Numerical methods have found approximately less than 10%. And hence the modeling approach is suitable as a coupled — field design tool for the development of single — walled carbon nanotube based mass sensors