February 24, 2011 - FARS News Agency -- Iranian researchers at Kashan University calculated the physical and mechanical properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and nitride-Bohr nanotubes in a move to help improve the design of arms for nano-robots.

The body of the nano robot has joints or fixed points around which arms move. This research studies the various stability types of two-walled or multi-walled carbon nanotubes in an elastic environment around these moving parts. "What distinguishes this study from all other researches carried out recently is the presentation of Pasternak model that considers the effect of shear forces applied by the elastic environment to the two-walled carbon nanotubes," Dr. Ali Qorbanpour Arani, a lecturer at University of Kashan, told the Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council.

Arani, a member of the Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Research Center of University of Kashan added, "In this study, the physical and mechanical properties of the multi-walled carbon and nitride-Bohr nanotubes were determined. The properties can be used in the design of nano-robots' arms. In addition, they can be used as intelligent nanotubes due to their piezoelectric properties by using electrical field on them, and they can control the rotation and movement or the kinetic of the movement in the arms and neck of the nano-robot."

"Taking into account the fact that nanotubes are usually studied in an elastic environment, in order to calculate the forces applied to nanotubes, which include vertical and shear forces, we used Winkler model (for studying the vertical forces) and Pasternak model (for the vertical and shear forces) to obtain more precise results," Qorbanpour Arani concluded.

Copyright 2011 Fars News Agency. All Rights Reserved

Follow Small Times on Twitter.com by clicking www.twitter.com/smalltimes. Or join our Facebook group