Fracture analysis of carbon nanotubes in the context of an atomic-based cellular automata algorithm

The cellular automata algorithm is introduced to study the tension characteristic of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). With the linkage between the atomistic potential and the classical cellular automata algorithm, the atomic-based cellular automata algorithm (ACAA) is presented for fracture analysis of CNTs. In ACAA simulation, a CNT is treated as a discrete hexagonal system in which the nodes represent the carbon atoms and Tersoff–Brenner’s potential is adopted to describe the interaction between atoms. The stress–strain response from elastic to fracture is simulated to examine the effect of a vacancy on the tension characteristic of CNTs. Simulation results reveal that an initial vacancy lowers tension strength significantly. The study demonstrates that the ACAA model is an efficient method for fracture analysis of CNTs.