Nonlinear deformation of end-supported nanorods based on consistent couple stress and surface elasticity theories

Established findings in nanostructure mechanics have highlighted the limitations of classical continuum theories in predicting mechanical behavior at the nanoscale, particularly for nanostructures like nanorods and nanowires used in nanoelectromechanical systems, sensors, resonators, memory systems, and optical devices. Motivated by these limitations and the need to accurately model both bulk and surface effects, this work aims to integrate two non-classical theories into a unified framework. This study investigates the nonlinear deformation behavior, including large deflection and post-buckling of end-supported nanorods, employing the consistent couple stress theory and surface elasticity theory by Gurtin–Murdoch to account for size-dependent effect and surface effect. A finite element method based on intrinsic coordinates is developed to model the mechanical response of nanorods under various uniform …