0000000000204656
AUTHOR
Nicola M. Pugno
showing 5 related works from this author
Influence of F centres on structural and electronic properties of AlN single-walled nanotubes
2007
We analyse the influence of uncharged N vacancies (neutral F centres), created either under conditions of AlN nanotube growth or by its soft irradiation, on the atomic and electronic structure. Periodic one-dimensional (1D) density functional theory (DFT) calculations on models of defective single-walled nanotubes (SW NTs) allow us to analyse how NT chirality and concentration of F centres change their properties compared to the corresponding defect-free nanotubes. We have simulated reconstruction around periodically repeated F centres on 1 nm AlN SW NTs with armchair- and zigzag-type chiralities. To achieve the limit of an isolated vacancy for both chiralities, we have considered different…
Experimental Observation of a Large Low-Frequency Band Gap in a Polymer Waveguide
2018
The quest for large and low-frequency band gaps is one of the principal objectives pursued in a number of engineering applications, ranging from noise absorption to vibration control, and to seismic wave abatement. For this purpose, a plethora of complex architectures (including multiphase materials) and multiphysics approaches have been proposed in the past, often involving difficulties in their practical realization. To address the issue of proposing a material design that enables large band gaps using a simple configuration, in this study we propose an easy-to-manufacture design able to open large, low-frequency complete Lamb band gaps exploiting a suitable arrangement of masses and stif…
Numerical simulations demonstrate that the double tapering of the spatualae of lizards and insects maximize both detachment resistance and stability
2011
Many biological attachment devices of insects, spiders and geckos consist of arrays of hairs (setae), which are terminated by contact elements of different shapes. However, the most frequently observed shape is a thin plate-like spatula. In spite of a rather wide range of sizes, most spatulae of different animals are not uniform, but rather possess a gradient in thickness and width. Here we show that the spatulae of insects and geckos become gradually thinner and wider approaching the end. This geometrical effect is explained in the present paper, by using a numerical approach for the modelling of the van der Waals adhesion and friction between the contact elements and the substrate. The ap…
Nanomechanics of individual aerographite tetrapods
2017
Carbon-based three-dimensional aerographite networks, built from interconnected hollow tubular tetrapods of multilayer graphene, are ultra-lightweight materials recently discovered and ideal for advanced multifunctional applications. In order to predict the bulk mechanical behaviour of networks it is very important to understand the mechanics of their individual building blocks. Here we characterize the mechanical response of single aerographite tetrapods via in situ scanning electron and atomic force microscopy measurements. To understand the acquired results, which show that the overall behaviour of the tetrapod is governed by the buckling of the central joint, a mechanical nonlinear mode…
Ab initio simulations on the atomic and electronic structure of single-walled BN nanotubes and nanoarches
2009
To simulate the perfect single-walled boron nitride nanotubes and nanoarches with armchair- and zigzag-type chiralities and uniform diameter of � 5 nm, we have constructed their one-dimensional (1D) periodic models. In this study, we have compared the calculated properties of nanotubes with those for both hexagonal and cubic phases of bulk: bond lengths, binding energies per B–N bond, effective atomic charges as well as parameters of total and projected one-electron densities of states. For both phases of BN bulk, we have additionally verified their lattice constants. In the density functional theory (DFT), calculations performed using formalism of the localized Gaussian-type atomic functio…