Effectiveness of SWNT in reducing the crack effect on the dynamic behavior of aluminium alloy

This paper investigates the effectiveness of Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes, SWNT, in improving the dynamic behavior of cracked Aluminium alloy, Al-alloy, beams by using a method based on changes in modal strain energy. Mechanical properties of composite materials are estimated by the Eshelby-Mori-Tanaka method. The influence of SWNT volume fraction, SWNT aspect ratio, crack depth and crack location on the natural frequencies of the damaged 3D randomly oriented SWNT reinforced Al-alloy beams are examined. Results demonstrate the significant advantages of SWNT in reducing the effect of cracks on the natural frequencies of Al-alloy beams.