Vibrations of carbon nanotubes and their composites: A review

Spurred by the discovery of carbon nanotubes in 1991 and the subsequent nanotechnology revolution, there has been a marked increase in the volume of scientific and engineering literature dealing with various aspects of the vibratory behavior of carbon nanotubes and their composites in the last few years. This paper is an attempt to present a coherent yet concise review of as many of these publications as possible. The major topics covered in this review are modeling and simulation of vibrating nanotubes, studies of nanomechanical resonators and oscillators, the use of vibration measurements to characterize nanotube mechanical properties, nanotube augmentation of dynamic structural properties of composites, vibrations of nanotube-based sensors and actuators, sonication of nanotube-reinforced polymer resins, Raman scattering from nanotubes, and high frequency wave–nanotube interactions. Summaries of both theoretical and experimental studies are included, along with key conclusions and recommendations from these studies.