International Journal of Engineering Science 52 (2012) 5664

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International Journal of Engineering Science

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A nonlocal beam theory for bending, buckling, and vibration of nanobeams

Huu-Tai Thai
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, 17 Haengdang-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 133-791, Republic of Korea

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 17 November 2011
Received in revised form 24 November 2011
Accepted 25 November 2011
Available online 22 December 2011
Keywords:
Nonlocal beam theory
Bending
Buckling
Vibration
Nanobeam

a b s t r a c t
A nonlocal shear deformation beam theory is proposed for bending, buckling, and vibration
of nanobeams using the nonlocal differential constitutive relations of Eringen. The theory,
which does not require shear correction factor, accounts for both small scale effects and
quadratic variation of shear strains and consequently shear stresses through the thickness
of the beam. In addition, it has strong similarities with nonlocal EulerBernoulli beam theory in some aspects such as equations of motion, boundary conditions, and stress resultant
expressions. The equations of motion are derived from Hamiltons principle. Analytical
solutions of deection, buckling load, and natural frequency are presented for a simply
supported beam, and the obtained results compare well with those predicted by the nonlocal Timoshenko and Reddy beam theories.
2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Since the discovery of carbon nanotubes by Iijima (1991) in 1991, nanostructures are being increasingly used due to their
large Youngs modulus, yield strength, exibility, and conductivity properties (Zhang, Wang, Duan, Xiang, & Zong, 2009).
Nanostructures can be modeled using atomistic or continuum mechanics. Compared to the atomistic approach, the continuum mechanics approach is widely used due to its computational efciency and simplicity. Due to the presence of small scale
effects at the nano scale, size-dependent continuum mechanics models such as the strain gradient theory (Nix & Gao, 1998),
couple stress theory (Hadjesfandiari & Dargush, 2011), modied couple stress theory (Asghari, Kahrobaiyan, & Ahmadian,
2010; Ma, Gao, & Reddy, 2008; Reddy, 2011), and nonlocal elasticity theory (Eringen, 1972; Eringen & Edelen, 1972; Eringen,
1983) are used. Among these theories, the nonlocal elasticity theory initiated by Eringen is widely used. Unlike the local theories which assume that the stress at a point is a function of strain at that point, the nonlocal elasticity theory assumes that
the stress at a point is a function of strains at all points in the continuum.
Based on the nonlocal constitutive relation of Eringen, a number of paper have been published attempting to develop
nonlocal beam models and apply them to analyze the bending (Aydogdu, 2009; Civalek & Demir, 2011; Reddy, 2007; Reddy
& Pang, 2008; Reddy, 2010; Roque, Ferreira, & Reddy, 2011; Wang & Liew, 2007; Wang, Kitipornchai, Lim, & Eisenberger,
2008), buckling (Ansari & Sahmani, 2011; Kumar, Heinrich, & Waas, 2008; Murmu & Pradhan, 2009; Senthilkumar, 2010;
Senthilkumar, Pradhan, & Prathap, 2010; Sahmani & Ansari, 2011; Wang, Varadan, & Quek, 2006, 2006), and vibration
(Aydogdu, 2008; Aydogdu, 2009; Benzair et al., 2008; Janghorban & Zare, 2011; Murmu & Pradhan, 2009; Wang & Varadan,
2006; Wang, Zhang, & He, 2007; Zhang, Liu, & Xie, 2005) responses of nanotubes. A review on the application of nonlocal
models in the modeling of carbon nanotubes and graphenes is presented by Arash and Wang (2012). All of these models
were based on EulerBernoulli beam theory (Civalek & Demir, 2011; Kumar et al., 2008; Murmu & Pradhan, 2009; Senthilkumar, 2010; Wang & Varadan, 2006; Wang et al., 2006; Wang & Liew, 2007; Zhang et al., 2005), Timoshenko beam theory
Tel.: +82 2 2220 4154.
E-mail address: thaihuutai@hanyang.ac.kr
0020-7225/$ - see front matter 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijengsci.2011.11.011

H.-T. Thai / International Journal of Engineering Science 52 (2012) 5664

57

(Benzair et al., 2008; Janghorban & Zare, 2011; Murmu & Pradhan, 2009; Reddy & Pang, 2008; Reddy, 2010; Roque et al.,
2011; Senthilkumar et al., 2010; Sahmani & Ansari, 2011; Wang, Zhang, Ramesh, & Kitipornchai, 2006; Wang et al., 2007;
Wang et al., 2008), and higher-order shear deformation beam theories (Aydogdu, 2008; Aydogdu, 2009; Ansari & Sahmani,
2011; Reddy, 2007). It should be noted that the EulerBernoulli beam theory is suitable for slender beams. For moderately
deep beams, it underestimates deection and overestimates buckling load and natural frequency due to neglecting the shear
deformation effect. The Timoshenko beam theory accounts for the shear deformation effect by assuming a constant shear
strain through the thickness of the beam. Therefore, a shear correction factor is required to compensate for the difference
between the actual stress state and the constant stress state. To avoid the use of shear correction factor and obtain better
prediction of response of deep beam, many higher-order shear deformation theories have been developed such as the
third-order shear deformation theory proposed by Reddy (2007) and the generalized beam theory proposed by Aydogdu
(2009).
In this paper, a nonlocal beam theory is proposed for bending, buckling, and vibration of nanobeams. The displacement
eld of the proposed theory is chosen based on the following assumptions: (1) the axial and transverse displacements consist of bending and shear components in which the bending components do not contribute toward shear forces and, likewise, the shear components do not contribute toward bending moments; (2) the bending component of axial
displacement is similar to that given by the EulerBernoulli beam theory; and (3) the shear component of axial displacement gives rise to the parabolic variation of shear strain and hence to shear stress through the thickness of the beam in
such a way that shear stress vanishes on the top and bottom surfaces. Based on the nonlocal constitutive relations of Eringen, equations of motion of nanobeams are derived using Hamiltons principle. Closed-form solutions of deection, buckling load, and natural frequency are obtained for simply supported nanobeams. To illustrate the accuracy of the present
theory, the obtained results are compared with those predicted by the EulerBernoulli beam theory, Timoshenko beam
theory, and Reddys beam theory.
2. Theoretical formulations
2.1. Kinematics
Based on the assumptions made in the preceding section, the displacement eld of the present theory can be obtained as
b
u1 x; z; t ux; t  z dw

dx

1
z
4

 53 z

 z 2 i dw

dx

u2 x; z; t 0
u3 x; z; t wb x; t ws x; t

where u is the axial displacement along the midplane of the beam; wb and ws are the bending and shear components of transverse displacement along the midplane of the beam. The nonzero strains of the proposed beam theory are
2

ex

du
d wb
d ws
z
f
;
2
2
dx
dx
dx

cxz g

dws
dx

where

f z=4 5zz=h2 =3
g 1  df =dz 5=4  5z=h2

2.2. Constitutive relations

Unlike the local theory, the nonlocal theory assumes that stress at a point depends not only on the strain at that point but
also on strains at all other points of the body. Eringen (1972, 1972, 1983) proposed a differential form of the nonlocal constitutive relation as
2

rx  l ddxr2x Eex
2

rxz  l ddxr2xz Gcxz

where E and G are the elastic modulus and shear modulus of the beam, respectively; l = (e0a)2 is the nonlocal parameter, e0 is a constant appropriate to each material, a is the internal characteristic length. The nonlocal parameter depends
on the boundary conditions, chirality, mode shapes, number of walls, and type of motion (Arash & Wang, 2012). So far,
there is no rigorous study made on estimating the value of the nonlocal parameter. It is suggested that the value of nonlocal parameter can be determined by conducting a comparison of dispersion curves from the nonlocal continuum
mechanics and molecular dynamics simulation (Arash & Ansari, 2010; Wang, 2005; Wang & Wang, 2007). In general,
a conservative estimate of the nonlocal parameter is e0a < 2.0 nm for a single wall carbon nanotube (Wang & Wang,
2007).

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H.-T. Thai / International Journal of Engineering Science 52 (2012) 5664

2.3. Equations of motion

Hamiltons principle is used herein to derive the equations of motion. The principle can be stated in analytical form as
Reddy (2002)

dU dV  dKdt

where dU is the variation of strain energy; dV is the variation of potential energy; and dK is the variation of kinetic energy.
The variation of strain energy of the beam can be stated as

dU

rx dex rxz dcxz dAdx

!
2
2
ddu
d dwb
d dws
ddws
dx
 Mb
N
 Ms
Q
2
2
dx
dx
dx
dx

where N, M, and Q are the stress resultants dened as

N; Mb ; M s

1; z; f rx dA and Q

g rxz dA

The variation of potential energy of the applied loads can be expressed as

dV 

qdwb ws dx 
0

N0

dwb ws ddwb ws
dx
dx
dx

where q and N0 are the transverse and axial loads, respectively.

The variation of kinetic energy is obtained as

dK

qu_ 1 du_ 1 u_ 3 du_ 3 dAdz



_ b ddw
_ b m2 dw
_ s ddw
_s
dw
_ u_ w
_bw
_ s dw
_bw
_ s  m2
m0 ud

dx
dx dx
84 dx dx

where dot-superscript convention indicates the differentiation with respect to the time variable t; q is the mass density; and
(m0, m2) are mass inertias dened as

m0 ; m2

1; z2 qdA

10

Substituting the expressions for dU, dV, and d K from Eqs. (6), (8) and (9) into Eq. (5) and integrating by parts, and collecting
the coefcients of du, dwb, and dws, the following equations of motion of the proposed beam theory are obtained

dN

m0 u
dx
2
2
2
b
d Mb
d wb ws
d w

q

N


m
dwb :
0
0
s
2
b
2
2
2
dx
dx
dx
2
2
2
s
d Ms dQ
d wb ws
m d w
b w
s  2
q  N0

m0 w
dws :
2
2
dx
84 dx2
dx
dx

du :

11a
11b
11c

The boundary conditions of the present theory are:

specify u or N
b
dMb
dwb ws
dw
m2
 N0
dx
dx
dx
s
dM s
dwb ws m2 dw

or V s 
Q  N0
dx
dx
84 dx

specify wb

or V b 

specify ws
dwb
dx
dws
dx

specify
specify

12

or Mb
or Ms

Clearly, when the shear deformation effect is neglected (ws = 0), the equations of motion in Eq. (11) and boundary conditions
in Eq. (12) recover those derived from the EulerBernoulli beam theory. By substituting Eq. (2) into Eq. (4) and the subsequent results into Eq. (7), the stress resultants are obtained as
2

Nl

d N

dx
2
d Mb

Mb  l
Ms  l
Q l

EA

dx
2
d Ms
2

dx
2
d Q
2

dx

du
dx

13a
2

EI

d wb
2

dx
2
EI d ws

84 dx2
5GA dws
6 dx

13b
13c
13d

H.-T. Thai / International Journal of Engineering Science 52 (2012) 5664

59

where

A; I

1; z2 dA

14

By substituting Eq. (13) into Eq. (11), the nonlocal equations of motion can be expressed in terms of displacements (u, wb, ws)
as

!
2

d u

EA

d u
2

dx

l
m0 u

EI

ql

dx

"

d wb
"

d q
2

dx

 N0

b w
s  l
m0 w

15a

dx

d wb ws
2

dx

2
b w
s
d w

l

#
 m2

dx

#
4
d wb ws
4

dx

2
b
d w
2

dx

l

4
b
d w

!
15b

dx

" 2
#
4
2
2
4
EI d ws 5GA d ws
d q
d wb ws
d wb ws

q

l

N

l
0
2
2
4
84 dx4
6 dx2
dx
dx
dx
"
#
!
2
2
4
s
s
b w
s
d w
m2 d w
d w
b w
s  l
m0 w
l

2
2
4
84 dx
dx
dx

15c

The equations of motion of local beam theory can be obtained from Eq. (15) by setting the nonlocal parameter l equal to
zero.
3. Analytical solution of simply supported beam
Consider a simply supported beam with length L subjected to transverse load q and axial load N0. The simply supported
boundary conditions of the beam are

wb ws Mb M s 0 at x 0; L

16

The following expansions of displacements are chosen to automatically satisfy the simply supported boundary conditions in
Eq. (16)
1
X

wb x; t
ws x; t

n1
1
X

W bn eixt sin ax
17
W sn eixt sin ax

n1

p
where i 1; a np=L; W bn ; W sn are coefcients, and x is the natural frequency. The transverse load q is also expanded
in the Fourier sine series as

qx

1
X

Q n sin ax

18

n1

where

Qn

2
L

L
0

8
for sinusoidal load q0
>
< q0 n 1
0
n

1;
3;
5;
.
.
.
for
uniform load q0
qx sin axdx 4q
np
>
:2
np
Q
sin
n

1;
2;
3;
.
.
.
for
point load Q 0 at the midspan
L 0
2

19

Substituting the expansions of wb, ws, and q from Eqs. (17) and (18) into Eq. (15), the closed-form solutions can be obtained
from the following equations

s11

s22

 kN0 a2

1 1
1 1

 kx2

m11

m12

m12

m22




W bn
W sn

kQ n
kQ n


20

where

EI 4 5GA 2
a
a ; k 1 la2
84
6
m2 2
m0 m2 a2 ; m22 m0
a ; m12 m0
84

s11 EIa4 ;
m11

s22

21

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H.-T. Thai / International Journal of Engineering Science 52 (2012) 5664

3.1. Bending
The static deection is obtained from Eq. (20) by setting N0 and x to zero

wx

1
X
kQ n
s11
sin ax
1
s11
s22
n1

22

3.2. Buckling
The buckling load is obtained from Eq. (20) by setting q and x to zero

N0

s11
s22
ka2 s11 s22

23

3.3. Vibration
The natural frequency is obtained from Eq. (20) by setting q and N0 to zero

q
m
m11 s22 m22 s11 2 4s11 s22 m212
11 s22 m22 s11 
1


x2
k
2 m11 m22  m212

24

4. Numerical results
In this section, analytical solutions obtained in the previous sections are presented. The obtained results are compared
with those computed independently for the rst time based on the EulerBernoulli beam theory (EBT), Timoshenko beam
theory (TBT), and Reddys beam theory (RBT) for a wide range of nonlocal parameter and thickness ratio. The closed-form
solutions of the EBT, TBT, and RBT are given in the Appendix. For all calculations, the shear correction factor and Poissons
ratio are taken as 5/6 and 0.3, respectively. The side of nanobeam L is assumed to be 10 nm. For convenience, the following
nondimensionalizations are used:


w

100EI
q0 L 4

Ncr L2
;
EI

 xL2
x

r
m0
EI

25

 of a simply supported beam subjected to uniform load. The

Table 1 shows the nondimensional maximum deections w
calculated values are obtained using 100 terms in series in Eqs. (17) and (18). The nondimensional critical buckling load
 of a simply supported beam are presented in Tables 24 for various values of thickness ratio
N and natural frequency x
L/h and nonlocal parameter l. The nonlocal parameters l = (e0a)2 are taken as 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 nm 2. These values are taken
because e0a should be smaller than 2 nm for carbon nanotubes as described by Wang and Wang (2007). It should be noted
Table 1
 of simply supported beam under uniform load.
Nondimensional deection w
L/h

l(nm2)

EBT

TBT

RBT

Present

0
1
2
3
4

1.3021
1.4271
1.5521
1.6771
1.8021

1.4321
1.5674
1.7028
1.8381
1.9734

1.4320
1.5673
1.7027
1.8381
1.9735

1.4320
1.5673
1.7027
1.8381
1.9735

10

0
1
2
3
4

1.3021
1.4271
1.5521
1.6771
1.8021

1.3346
1.4622
1.5898
1.7173
1.8449

1.3346
1.4622
1.5898
1.7174
1.8450

1.3346
1.4622
1.5898
1.7174
1.8450

20

0
1
2
3
4

1.3021
1.4271
1.5521
1.6771
1.8021

1.3102
1.4359
1.5615
1.6871
1.8128

1.3102
1.4359
1.5615
1.6872
1.8128

1.3102
1.4359
1.5615
1.6872
1.8128

100

0
1
2
3
4

1.3021
1.4271
1.5521
1.6771
1.8021

1.3024
1.4274
1.5525
1.6775
1.8025

1.3024
1.4274
1.5525
1.6775
1.8025

1.3024
1.4274
1.5525
1.6775
1.8025

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H.-T. Thai / International Journal of Engineering Science 52 (2012) 5664

Table 2
Nondimensional critical buckling load N of simply supported beam.
L/h

l(nm2)

EBT

TBT

RBT

Present

0
1
2
3
4

9.8696
8.9830
8.2426
7.6149
7.0761

8.9509
8.1468
7.4753
6.9061
6.4174

8.9519
8.1477
7.4761
6.9068
6.4181

8.9519
8.1477
7.4761
6.9068
6.4181

10

0
1
2
3
4

9.8696
8.9830
8.2426
7.6149
7.0761

9.6227
8.7583
8.0364
7.4244
6.8990

9.6228
8.7583
8.0364
7.4245
6.8991

9.6228
8.7583
8.0364
7.4245
6.8991

20

0
1
2
3
4

9.8696
8.9830
8.2426
7.6149
7.0761

9.8067
8.9258
8.1900
7.5664
7.0310

9.8067
8.9258
8.1900
7.5664
7.0310

9.8067
8.9258
8.1900
7.5664
7.0310

100

0
1
2
3
4

9.8696
8.983
8.2426
7.6149
7.0761

9.8671
8.9807
8.2405
7.6130
7.0743

9.8671
8.9807
8.2405
7.6130
7.0743

9.8671
8.9807
8.2405
7.6130
7.0743

that l = 0 corresponds to local beam theory. It can be seen that the results of present theory are in excellent agreement with
those predicted by TBT and RBT for all values of thickness ratio L/h and nonlocal parameter l. The TBT, RBT, and present theory give solutions which are almost the same for all values of thickness ratio L/h and nonlocal parameter l, whereas the EBT
underestimates deections and overestimates buckling loads as well as natural frequencies. The difference between EBT and
shear deformation theories (i.e. TBT, RBT, and present theory) is negligible for slender nanobeams and considerable for deep
nanobeams especially at higher modes (see Table 4). This is due to the fact that the EBT neglects the effects of shear deformation and rotatory inertia. In general, the effects of transverse shear deformation and nonlocal parameter l are to increase
the deections (see Table 1 and Fig. 1) and reduce the buckling loads as well as natural frequencies (see Tables 2 and 3 and
Fig. 2). In other words, the inclusion of the shear deformation and nonlocal effects increases the deections and decreases the
buckling loads and natural frequencies. Also, the effect of the nonlocal parameter l on buckling load is more than on frequency (see Fig. 2). It also observed from Tables 14 that the local theory underestimates the deections and overestimates
the buckling loads as well as natural frequencies of the nanobeams compared to the nonlocal one, and the difference between local and nonlocal theories is signicant for high value of the nonlocal parameter. This is due to the fact that the nonlocal theory is unable to capture the small scale effect of the nanobeams.

Table 3
 of simply supported beam.
Nondimensional fundamental frequency x
L/h

l(nm2)

EBT

TBT

RBT

Present

0
1
2
3
4

9.7112
9.2647
8.8747
8.5301
8.2228

9.2740
8.8477
8.4752
8.1461
7.8526

9.2745
8.8482
8.4757
8.1466
7.8530

9.2745
8.8482
8.4757
8.1466
7.8530

10

0
1
2
3
4

9.8293
9.3774
8.9826
8.6338
8.3228

9.7075
9.2612
8.8713
8.5269
8.2196

9.7075
9.2612
8.8714
8.5269
8.2197

9.7075
9.2612
8.8714
8.5269
8.2197

20

0
1
2
3
4

9.8595
9.4062
9.0102
8.6604
8.3483

9.8281
9.3763
8.9816
8.6328
8.3218

9.8281
9.3763
8.9816
8.6328
8.3218

9.8281
9.3763
8.9816
8.6328
8.3218

100

0
1
2
3
4

9.8692
9.4155
9.0191
8.6689
8.3566

9.8679
9.4143
9.0180
8.6678
8.3555

9.8679
9.4143
9.0180
8.6678
8.3555

9.8679
9.4143
9.0180
8.6678
8.3555

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H.-T. Thai / International Journal of Engineering Science 52 (2012) 5664

Table 4
 of simply supported beam (L/h = 5).
The rst three nondimensional frequencies x
Modes (n)

l(nm2)

EBT

TBT

RBT

Present

0
1
2
3
4

9.7112
9.2647
8.8747
8.5301
8.2228

9.2740
8.8477
8.4752
8.1461
7.8526

9.2745
8.8482
8.4757
8.1466
7.8530

9.2745
8.8482
8.4757
8.1466
7.8530

0
1
2
3
4

37.1120
31.4239
27.7422
25.1104
23.1088

32.1665
27.2364
24.0453
21.7642
20.0293

32.1847
27.2519
24.0589
21.7765
20.0407

32.1847
27.2519
24.0589
21.7765
20.0407

0
1
2
3
4

78.0234
56.7798
46.8246
40.7568
36.5657

61.4581
44.7247
36.8831
32.1036
28.8023

61.5746
44.8095
36.9531
32.1645
28.8569

61.5746
44.8095
36.9531
32.1645
28.8569

Transverse deflection

1.8

1.6

1.4
All shear deformation theories for L/h=10
CPT

1.2

Nonlocal parameter
 versus nonlocal parameter l.
Fig. 1. Nondimensional deection w

CPT

Buckling load/Fundamental frequency

10

All shear deformation theories for L/h=10

9
Vibration

Buckling

Nonlocal parameter
 versus nonlocal parameter l.
Fig. 2. Nondimensional critical buckling load N and fundamental frequency x

H.-T. Thai / International Journal of Engineering Science 52 (2012) 5664

63

5. Conclusions
A nonlocal shear deformation beam theory is proposed for bending, buckling, and vibration of nanobeams. The theory
accounts for a quadratic variation of the shear strains across the thickness, and satises the zero traction boundary conditions on the top and bottom surfaces of the beam without using shear correction factor. Based on the nonlocal differential
constitutive relation of Eringen, the nonlocal equations of motion of the proposed theory are derived from Hamiltons principle. Analytical solutions of deection, buckling load, and natural frequency are obtained for simply supported beam.
Numerical examples show that the proposed theory gives solutions which are almost identical with those generated by
TBT and RBT. It is observed that inclusion of the nonlocal effect increases the deections and decreases the buckling loads
and natural frequencies especially at high values of nonlocal parameter.
Appendix A
The closed form solution of simply supported EBT can be obtained from

EIa4  kN 0 a2  kx2 m0 m2 a2 W n kQ n

A:1

The closed form solution of simply supported TBT can be obtained from

"

GAj EIa2

GAja
2

GAja

GAja  kN0 a

 kx

m2

m0

 !

/n
Wn

A:2

kQ n

where j = 5/6 is the shear correction factor

The closed form solution of simply supported RBT can be obtained from

"

8GA
15
8GAa
15

a
68EI
105

2
3

a
 16EI
105

8GAa
15
8GAa2
15

a
 16EI
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