A nonlocal model for carbon nanotubes under axial loads

In literature various beam and rod theories are reformulated using the non- local differential constitutive relations proposed by Eringen. In the present paper we provide a new approach based on a variational framework derived from a nonlocal consistent thermodynamic approach. The treatment allows us to consider rods subjected to constant axial loads which are excluded by the existing nonlocal models. Exact solutions for rods under constant ax- ial loads are illustrated and the proposed method can be used to get new benchmarks for numerical analyses.