Effect of aspects ratio on Young's modulus of boron nitride nanotubes: A molecular dynamics study

Abstract

As the first of its kind, this study reports the effect of aspect ratio (L/D) on Young's modulus of Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) within the framework of molecular dynamics simulations using a Tersoff force field. The variation in the length of BNNTs may influence their elastic properties; therefore, the values of L/D of BNNTs were varied as 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25. Our results reveal that Young's modulus of a BNNT increases as its aspect ratio increases and the values become stable at L/D ~15. The current fundamental study highlights the important role of aspect ratio of BNNTs to determine their mechanical behaviours as fillers in multifunctional nanocomposites. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd.