Forward and backward whirling of a spinning nanotube nano-rotor assuming gyroscopic effects

This work examines the fundamental vibrational characteristics of a spinning CNT-based nano-rotor assuming a nonlocal elasticity Euler-Bernoulli beam theory. The rotary inertia, gyroscopic, and rotor mass unbalance effects are all taken into consideration in the beam model. Assuming a nonlocal theory, two coupled 6th-order partial differential equations governing the vibration of the rotating SWCNT are first derived. In order to acquire the natural frequencies and dynamic response of the nanorotor system, the nonlinear equations of motion are numerically solved. The nano-rotor system frequency spectrum is shown to exhibit two distinct frequencies: one positive and one negative. The positive frequency is known as to represent the forward whirling mode, whereas the negative characterizes the backward mode. First, the results obtained within the framework of this numerical study are compared with few existing data (i.e., molecular dynamics) and showed an overall acceptable agreement. Then, a thorough and detailed parametric study is carried out to study the effect of several parameters on the nano-rotor frequencies such as: the nanotube radius, the input angular velocity and the small scale parameters. It is shown that the vibration characteristics of a spinning SWCNT are significantly influenced when these parameters are changed.