Evaluation of the drag force on single-walled carbon nanotubes in rarefied gases

Abstract

The drag force on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in dilute gases has been previously derived. However, the drag force formulae involve collision integrals, which are complex functions of the gas-CNT interaction potential. The unavailability of the collision integrals and interaction potential makes the application of the theoretical drag force laws impossible. In this work, we develop a potential model for the interaction between a gas and single-walled CNT. The collision integrals are then calculated based on the potential and empirical expressions are proposed. Finally, the drag force is computed directly through molecular dynamics simulations and compared with the theoretical predictions. Copyright © 2012 American Scientific Publishers.