Boundary-dependent mechanical properties of graphene annular under in-plane circular shearing via atomistic simulations

Graphene annulus possesses special wrinkling phenomenon with wide range of potential applications. Using molecular dynamics simulation, this study concerns the effect of boundary on the mechanical properties of circular and elliptical graphene annuli under circular shearing at inner edge. Both the wrinkle characteristic and torque capacity of annular graphene can be effectively tuned by outer boundary radius and aspect ratio. For circular annulus with fixed inner radius, the critical angle of rotation can be increased by several times without sacrificing its torque capacity by increasing outer boundary radius. The wrinkle characteristic of graphene annulus with elliptical outer boundary differs markedly with that of circular annulus. Torque capacity anomalously decreases with the increase of aspect ratio, and a coupled effect of the boundary aspect ratio and the ratio of minor axis to inner radius on wrinkling are revealed. By studying the stress distribution and wrinkle characteristics, we find the decay of torque capacity is the result of circular stress concentration around the minor axis, while the nonuniform stress distribution is anomalously caused by the change of wrinkle profiles near the major axis. The specific mechanism of out-of-plane deformation on in-plane strength provides a straightforward means to develop novel graphene-based devices.