On geometrically nonlinear mechanics of nanocomposite beams

Nowadays, nanocomposite beams undergoing large displacements are effectively employed as basic structural components of small-scale electro-mechanical systems, such as nanoscopic actuators, switches and storage devices, whose design requires accurate assessment of size effects. Thus, in the framework of nonlocal continuum mechanics, the present paper provides a consistent methodology of integral elasticity to address applicative problems of nanocomposite beams undergoing large configuration changes. Constitutive properties of nanofillers are preliminarily evaluated through a novel approach inspired by Homogenization Theory and then experimentally validated by matching outcomes of Molecular Dynamics. The structural problem of a nanocomposite cantilever undergoing large displacements is formulated exploiting the well-posed stress-driven nonlocal theory to account for scale phenomena. An iterative procedure is put into operation to solve geometrically nonlinear beam problems of current interest in Engineering Science. Effects of mass fractions and distribution patterns of nanofillers on size-dependent structural responses are numerically investigated and discussed.