Stress Transfer within CNT Fibres: A FEA Approach

Abstract

Carbon nanotube (CNT) fibres are characterized by extreme anisotropy in their structure and physical properties. These fibres have been shown to have high axial strength, but poor shear strength between carbon nanotubes; for this reason it is difficult to transfer stress uniformly acrossthe fibre cross section. Here, Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is used to predict the stress distribution and the stress-strain curves of CNT fibres. The resultsdemonstrate that, in accordance with St. Venant principle,very considerable length-to-diameter ratios (> 103) are required to obtain a uniform stress distribution within the fibres even in the presence of low applied strain.