Nanotube buckling in aligned multi-wall carbon nanotube composites

The nanoscale buckling behavior of multi-wall carbon nanotubes, which was observed in polymer composites was discussed. The telescoping fracture behavior of multi-walled nanotube resulted in a significant structure dependence of the carbon nanotube on the tensile properties of nanotube-reinforced composites. The buckling behavior of carbon nanotubes utilized as reinforcement in an engineering material exhibit a transformation between Euler-type buckling for small nanotubes and local kinking for larger diameter nanotubes. The results show that the increase in flexural stiffness and buckling behavior for nanotubes may have significant implications toward the nanoscale design of nanotube-reinforced composites loaded in compression.