Carbon nanotube oscillators: Effect of small bending strain

The oscillatory behavior of CNT oscillators, initially subjected to bending, is studied under constant temperature using molecular dynamics simulations. We constrain the rotational motion of the inner CNT by imposing a small bending deformation to the initial structure. Our observation suggests that this constraint does not enhance the oscillation stability of CNT oscillators. However, oscillations of the shorter inner CNT are severely affected by the bending strain. As the curvature increases, the stability reduces significantly, resulting in faster damping of oscillations. The exchange of energy from orderly translational motion of inner CNT to high frequency modes of outer CNT is also observed.